


Anything Seems Possible With You By My Side

by Vasser



Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
Genre: AU - High School, Abortion, Abuse, Abusive Brothers, Abusive Family, Abusive Parent, Abusive Relationship, Adopted Character, Adoption, Alpha!Ash Lynx, Alpha!Blanca, Alpha!Dino Golzine, Alpha!Frederick Arthur, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Anger, Anxiety, Arguements, Arranged Marriages, Baby, Baby Names, Bad Parents, Bad doctor, Beta!Marvin Cosby, Beta!Shorter Wong, Beta!Sing Soo-Ling, Betas, Birth, Blood, Blood Tests, Bullies, Caring, Child Exploitation, Confession, Confessions, Confrontation, Dates, Depressed Omega, Desperation, Developing Friendships, Dinner dates, Dirty Talk, Disrespect, Distrust, Doctor's Appointments, Drama, Dubious Consent, Eiji gotta work to get there, Emotional Healing, Fights, Gender Reveal, Gentle Sex, Giving Birth, Good Teachers, Heats, High blood pressure, Hormonal Omega, Hospitals, I wonder which one, Labour, Loving Parents, Loving Sex, M/M, Making a Scene, Masturbation, Medical Condition, Mentally strong omega, Mentions of miscarriage, Morning Sickness, Multi, Music, Name choosing, Not Natural Birth, Omega Rights Issues, Omega Verse, Omega!Eiji Okumura, Omega!Yut-Lung Lee, Omegaism, Omegas, Omegaverse, Orgasm, Outburst, Panic, Panic Attacks, Parenthood, Parents, Passionate Sex, People Are Omegaist, Plot, Pregnancy, Pregnancy complications, Primal Midset, Protection, Protective Alpha, Rape, Romance, Romantic dates, Rutting, Sad Omega, Secrets, Self Care, Self Defense, Self-Love, Sensitivity, Sex, Sexism, Sexual Abuse, Sexual Harassment, Slight Age changes, Slut Shaming, Some characters are students, Some characters are teachers, Stress, Student/Teacher Reltionship, Students, Supportive Relationship, Supportive Teachers, Teachers, Teen Pregnancy, The Baby Is Kinda The Point, Trust Issues, Understanding Parents, Urine Tests, Verbal Fights, Victim Blaming, Vulnerable Eiji, age gap, alphas - Freeform, angry omega, angry outburst, arranged mating, baby is fine, bad teachers, bath scene, baths, briefly, caesarean, caesarean section, confessing secrets, creepy doctor, drop, dubcon, early birth, eventually, fertility, friendships, gender reveal party, heat - Freeform, injuries, just in one background ship, kind of?, loving, loving alpha, maternity ward, medical complications, mentioned abortion, mentioned dubious consent, mentions of arranged marriages, midwife, not badly premature though, omega drop, omega rights, physical fights, premature baby, protective Ash, public fights, relationship drama, ruts, safe sex, self hatred, self love, supportive friends, supportive parents, terrible brothers, ultrasound, unsupportive parents, vanilla sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:41:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 36,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21935386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vasser/pseuds/Vasser
Summary: Omega Eiji Okumura's ex boyfriend had knocked him up and left him all alone to deal with the consequences. Even worse is the fact that Eiji is still in high school with his exams coming up around the time the baby would be expected. He has no idea how he's supposed to get through the year until he meets one of the kindest Alphas he has ever encountered, willing to help him get through this. But can Eiji really trust Ash Lynx after everything? And can he deny the sparks that seem to fly between them with every breath?*UPDATES AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK, THE DAY MAY VARY*
Relationships: Ash Lynx/Eiji Okumura, Blanca/Lee Yut-Lung, Frederick Arthur/Eiji Okumura (past), Shorter Wong/Sing Soo-Ling
Comments: 213
Kudos: 474





	1. Broken Into Pieces

A loud sobbing could be heard coming from a bedroom in an apartment in a small complex in New York. The owner of those sounds had every right to be upset. After three pregnancy tests that he was still half unwilling to believe, Eiji Okumura had been forced to tell his short-term boyfriend the news. Frederick Arthur wasn't particularly pleasant on a typical day so Eiji had been dreading the conversation and had to use a whole two hours to build up the courage for it.

It went worse than he imagined. Arthur, as he preferred to be called, had remained emotionless as he called the omega a whore for letting himself be knocked up so easily, and told him that if he hadn't made himself so easy then he wouldn't be in this mess. Then he broke up with him on the spot without a care in the world. It all became too much and Eiji just cried and cried into his pillow.

There had always been a place deep down where he knew his short relationship with Arthur hadn't been healthy or normal. After just two months together the alpha had been so incredibly pushy about having sex and had even used his rank to try and force the omega to agree. After a week of pressure and pushing Eiji had finally givn in and let Arthur take his first. It spiralled from there, the alpha always finding excuses to make him agree to sex nearly every single day from then on. It had never been comfortable, he hadn't even felt like he was allowed to ask Arthur to pull out or use protection.

But leaving him just like that, blaming Eiji for becoming pregnant after four months together? Why would he do that? It may have been obvious that Arthur never loved the omega to outsiders, but Eiji had always believed that he had to care somewhere deep down, otherwise why were they together? Now he knew that was no the case. He had been nothing but a naïve and easy little omega slut for Arthur to get his hands on whenever he pleased. 

The worst part was that Arthur got away from everything. No one would ever bother trying to hold him to account or make him take responsibility. To society this was Eiji's mistake; Eiji's burden. He was the careless whore that had neglected the protection and gotten pregnant while Arthur was the poor alpha who had been let down by his shameful little omega.

His thoughts were a whirlwind of self-pity and self-hatred, and he couldn't even begin to guess all the horrible ways people would blame him for his own tragedy. How were his parents going to react too? They were going to be so ashamed of their son... The useless son who was stupid enough to ruin his education by having a baby without so much as an alpha to share the burden. 

Because Eiji had to carry this baby to term, ever since he first presented as an omega his parents had spoken to him about abortion and why they believed it was wrong. They overall let people decide by themselves, but their views had rubbed off on their son. The innocent life inside him had done nothing to cause him harm, so he could never take away its chance to live.

This was going to be so complicated... An hour after Arthur's harsh break-up with him he had finally managed to slow his tears. There were still some flowing down his cheeks, but they were nothing compared to before. He had time to figure this out, he supposed. He had around three weeks until people would be able to scent his pregnancy, so he had until then to figure out how to tell his parents... School would be a different matter, however. That would have to happen instantly. 

It was Eiji's final year of high school, his exam year...and his exams were nine months away. He had to talk to the staff at the school to find solutions and to gain access to a support network. Not that there would be much support for a disgraced omega, but he had to take whatever he could get to try and still get his education despite the unexpected twist in his life.

Three weeks to talk to the staff at school, tell his parents and do damage control with the other students... Oh, he was so fucked... If he at least had friends to help then maybe it wouldn't have been too bad, but he didn't even have that really. He had always been quiet and private. The only friend he ever had was driven away efficiently by Arthur the second he started dating him...

It was going to be a tough nine months, there was no choice now except to face the music and deal with whatever new hardships came his way.

\----

The next morning at school everyone stopped talking the second he entered the hallway. For some reason they were staring at him in a weird way, almost like they knew about all his shame. He started to panic and wonder why people were acting like this until he saw Arthur smirking to himself among the other students. No... He must be responsible, he must have told everyone... 

But how far did it go? Was it just everyone in Eiji's year? Was it the entire student body? Oh God, had he told Eiji's teachers? The omega knew he had been terrified of talking to his own teachers this morning, but he would have preferred that to this. He felt sick to his stomach, riddled with anxiety. Out. He needed to get out. 

Fresh tears started to roll down his cheeks as everyone stared at the freak show they believed him to be, and he suddenly charged forward, running through the crowd and aiming for the toilets. He just needed to hide, to lock himself away in a cubicle until everyone else had gone to class. The best thing would be to just never face them again. How likely was it that he could go through the school year without having to see or speak to any of his peers? Why would Arthur ever do this to him? He knew he was a jerk, but to go this far...

Soon enough he reached the toilets and was relieved to find them completely empty. Thank goodness, no one to bother him or make him feel worse. He allowed himself to start fully crying and locked himself in the end cubicle, hugging his bag close to his chest. 

He felt like he could hardly breathe after that experience, they all judged him so easily. As he thought, he was the stupid little omega slut in this tale, they were all on Arthur's side. Arthur, the fine specimen of an alpha that no one would dare to turn against or stand up to. The prince of their tale and likely of Arthur's own narrative of the situation.

Shame and panic overwhelmed him and he started to realise he really was finding it hard to breathe. Eiji started hyperventilating and his hands started to shake aggressively. His head was spinning so fast he thought he might be dizzy and-.

The door to the boys' bathroom suddenly opened and feet ran quickly towards Eiji's stall, the owner of the feet panting. Had he run here? Just to come and mock him? How cruel. Then again, the scent of this new arrival was distinctly alpha and cruelty seemed to be an alpha's hidden speciality.

There was a light knock on the door as the omega kept sobbing and suffering his panic attack, and he could have sworn he heard the alpha on the other side of the door swear.

"Omega! Omega, I know it's hard, but you've gotta breathe," he called through the door. "I don't know what happened, but whoever hurt you can't win. If you keep having this panic attack and if you stay hidden away, then the bad guy wins."

What? That was...unexpected. No jeering, no horrible words of malice? This alpha was trying to help him. The shock seemed to make everything Eiji was doing freeze before the tears suddenly started to slow and he managed to force himself to get control of his breathing. Maybe the alpha wouldn't be so nice when he figured out it was a knocked up tart in the cubicle, so he had to take the help now while it was still being offered.

As he became calmer he started to finally take notice of more details. The new alpha's scent had been tense ever since he first walked in, but as Eiji calmed down then the new scent relaxed too. The second thing Eiji noticed was that this scent was more pleasant that Arthur's. While his ex had an overpowering and domineering scent of bitter coffee and a field of too many flowers, this new alpha had a scent of slight lemon and sandalwood that was softer on the nose and didn't choke Eiji's own scent out of existence. 

It was wrong on so many levels, but he liked the scent. Carefully, he breathed it in through his nose and let the nice smell relax him. His body soon settled down and the tension in his back somewhat disappeared.

"There were go, good boy... Do you want to come out of the stall?"

Did he? Well... This alpha was being so nice, but there was no guarantee that he would stay that way. Leaving would also expose him to the judgement of all the other students again. He should leave, but he didn't want to, not yet.

"N-no," he finally replied with a meek voice. God, he had never been a particularly strong person, but he had never been this fragile either. Arthur had don his work thoroughly enough...

"Okay. That's your choice, and I won't push it. But I do think you should come out here," he stated simply before his shadow shifted. He was still there though, so he just assumed the alpha was making himself comfortable. Even though the bell just rang for everyone to go to class. Wait, was this alpha skipping class to stay with him? "What's your name? I don't wanna just keep calling you omega."

Here goes nothing, he was about to reveal exactly who he was and earn this disdain of this alpha.

"Eiji Okumura," he stated quickly, a quiver in his voice as he waited for the reaction of the alpha. There was a quiet pause before the alpha spoke again. 

"Nice name. Japanese, right? Did your parents move to America?"

"Y-yeah. That was before I was born though..." Talking to this alpha wasn't nearly as uncomfortable as expected, and there was none of the hatred he expected. That settled it.

Before he could change his mind Eiji used a bit of toilet paper to wipe away any remaining traces of his meltdown and put his backpack over his shoulder. Taking a deep breath and steeling himself, he silently unlocked the door and took a timid step out, and he was greeted by the most beautiful man he ever saw.

Jade green eyes and messy blonde hair that had grown all the way down to the alpha's shoulders, and such clear skin. He looked like a complete work of art. The easy and relaxed grin he gave the omega when he stepped out enhanced the picture. An angel. He had to be an angel. 

"There you go, Eiji. Nothing bad is gonna happen," he promised with that smile, holding his hand out to him in a friendly gesture. He stared at his hand a little stupidly before realising there was seriously no trick. Eiji nodded and simply took the alpha's hand, shaking hands with him and letting an awkward smile onto his face.

"There we go. Come on, let's get you to class," he said as he let go of the omega's hand and started to lead him out of the bathroom. "Whatever happened, it isn't worth failing over." 

Eiji followed him out into the hall in a daze and couldn't help sighing in relief when he figured out no one was waiting to ambush him in the hall. The kind alpha started to walk away and he realised he hadn't even asked his name. 

"Um... W-wait! What's your name?"

The blonde stopped in his tracks and turned back in surprise before giving him another easy and confident smile.

"Ash Lynx," he answered simply. "Come find me at lunch, I'll try my best to help you figure everything out." The offer was too good to refuse right now, so Eiji smiled and agreed before heading to class to face his new reality.


	2. A Support Network Is Born

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo! More of this fic because why not?  
> The reaction to the first chapter was so large and positive for saying it's only been three days, so I couldn't resist getting more out! I've also decided to change the upload schedule to every single friday!  
> So from now on there should be a new chapter every week! Enjoy it guys!
> 
> \- Vasser x

Getting to class was like a nightmare. He was late, which was not a good start, and everyone went silent as he walked into the room. The little hope Ash Lynx had managed to inspire in his heart promptly died and shame rolled off him in waves, infecting his scent. The people closest to him physically recoiled and then glared at him deeply. From previous experiences he knew that shame was not a pleasant thing to smell on someone, least of all an omega. As an omega he was supposed to smell sweet and pure, and people hated it when they had a rotten quality to them.

Eiji quickly cast his eyes down to the floor and trembled, wrapping his arms around himself. Everyone's eyes stayed on him and he felt like he was actually getting crushed under the weight of their gazes. It was too horrible. He couldn't lose it though, Ash had been right. He couldn't afford to fail because of this. He started to shuffle awkwardly to his seat in the centre of the classroom before the teacher's voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Eiji, why are you late?"

Mister Lobo was nice on most days. For a journalism teacher he was relaxed and made the lessons pretty fun, but he had a zero tolerance policy on tardiness. He hated any of his students being late and made sure to call out anyone who was late. Now Eiji was the centre attention and for the third time that morning he wished he hadn't bothered coming to school.

He turned to his teacher and looked up at him with weak eyes, hugging himself tighter. Someone nearby scoffed and muttered something about Eiji really playing the victim card. Tears built up again but he tried to hold it together. Losing it in the bathroom was one thing, but losing it in front of his entire journalism class was different. He had to hold it together, he had to...

"... Eiji, step outside the classroom, I need to talk to you privately," Mister Lobo said simply in the same stern tone of voice. This was going horribly and Eiji couldn't help the tear that did escape and roll down his cheek. Why had he let the beautiful blonde alpha talk him out of the bathroom? It would have been better to stay there... All because Ash had a nice scent. Maybe he really was the stupid omega slut everyone believed him to be...

Everyone started to whisper and mutter as the poor omega forced himself back across the room and it was all he could do to block out the noises and avoid their eyes. Phrases like 'disgraced omega' and 'poor Arthur' were thrown around in their conversations as he slipped out of the door. Mister Lobo wasn't far behind.

Once out in the hallway the teacher shut the door for privacy and frowned. It was obvious he was going to be sent to detention for his lateness and then people were going to have an even worse opinion of him. Chants of 'don't cry, don't cry' were going though his head as he made himself meet his teacher's eyes.

"What's wrong? You've always been a good kid Eiji, you never made any reckless choices, never arrived late, what's going on?" The words took him by surprise and he soon realised that Mister Lobo was actually asking. Then again, he was a beta, so maybe he would be more sympathetic to his situation than an alpha would be. "Everyone's behaviour when you walked in... Some of the things they said... That alpha you were spending a lot of time with, did he assault you?"

The omega's eyes widened in surprise before he instantly shook his head and dried his eyes, looking at his teacher seriously. Even if Arthur had been a complete jerk, Eiji had been the one to say yes to their activities in the end. There was no assault and he was going to have to make that perfectly clear. 

"N-no, I just... Everything... I..."

The teacher frowned at that point and breathed gently before sighing. It wasn't normal practice but it was clear Mister Lobo had checked Eiji's scent. That was only allowed if the teacher believed there was a threat to the student and needed to confirm. So he had picked up on the fact that something was genuinely wrong in Eiji's life, he just hadn't guessed what.

"Eiji, don't take this the wrong way, I'm just trying to help, but you absolutely reek of alpha. As your teacher I have a duty of care and unless you tell me what's going on I'm going to have to report this to the headmaster and assume you've been assaulted," he warned seriously, giving Eiji the softest look he could manage in the situation. 

This had come sooner than expected. He had expected to go and see the school guidance officer during lunch and explain about the pregnancy carefully in his own time. Now he had to tell his journalism teacher without any prior planning. He hated this, he had really messed up his life and caused himself some horrible situations.

Well, there was no choice left.

"Everything w-was consensual," he started in a quiet voice as he stared at the floor in discomfort. "But I... I ended up... He broke up with me a-and I'm pregnant..."

Betas had no specific scent but even so they occasionally let off smells if their emotions got to strong. Mister Lobo was letting off a long whiff of surprise and shock. His face looked bewildered and he was noticeably struggling to pull himself back together. 

Eiji began to get even more uncomfortable and flushed red from shame and disappointment in himself. Even his teacher was disgusted with him now. There was no way he was going to be allowed back into class, he was the knocked up omega distraction. Mister Lobo had to ban him otherwise he would cause disruption to all the others. The little omega believed he had genuinely lost everything. His teacher finally pulled himself together and gave Eiji the most comforting smile he could manage. 

"Okay, Eiji. We'll support you as best we can. It isn't ideal for you, I know, but these things happen, and we'll try our very best to make sure you still pass your exams. Now, how about you take this period off to go speak to Miss Randy about everything. She's also a beta, you know her, so you'll be able to speak to her better than me. I'll see you in tomorrow's class."

That didn't sound to bad actually, getting out of the classroom for the morning would ease his growing anxiety and give him time to find a way to deal with everything. Although... He was still late...

"Don't I get detention for being late?"

The teacher looked confused for a second before suddenly chuckling slightly at the words.

"Eiji, you're an emotional wreck and you have a lot going on. I'd be a horrible teacher if I gave you a detention for having a rough day," he reassured, and despite himself Eiji smiled.

\----

Miss Randy's office was small, but homely. Nothing like the woman herself. She was tough as nails. She had to be as she usually worked with problem students, he just had to hope she would be nicer to him. He probably didn't deserve it, but Eiji might actually die on the spot if she gave him a lecture about how he had failed and how he needed to do better.

With a deep breath he knocked in the door and heard her call for him to wait. He sighed deeply from nerves and shuffled about outside the door, trying too hard to organise his posture. This meeting was going to be so awkward, he hadn't planned anything out. What to do, what to say... 

Soon enough, far too soon if Eiji were to be honest, Miss Randy called Eiji in. He steeled himself and stepped inside. She seemed surprised to see him but soon enough smiled in that detached, professional way she usually did. She was nice enough though, just not keen on people in particular. 

"Eiji Okumura. Not someone I usually see here," she started simply, perfectly relaxed. "Did you come to hand in your career plan? It would be just like you to finish it early," she complimented with a slightly warmer smile this time. Of course, she would have no clue, she would assume he was just the same quiet and diligent student he had always been.

He took a seat when Miss Randy gestured that he could and wriggled in the seat uncomfortably as nerves took over his mind. Instantly the guidance officer noticed that the reason he had come to her was nothing praiseworthy and her lips set into a thin and serious line.

She silently stood up and pulled out an empty file in almost a defeated fashion and wrote Eiji's name on it in loopy handwriting, keeping her eyes focused on the folder rather than looking at the offending student. It was clear what she was doing, she was preparing a record for him. 

"... I'm pregnant." Just like ripping off a plaster, he had to do it fast. He would never do it otherwise. There was too much fear building up in his mind every time he had to say it and after the morning was through he didn't know if he would even be able to face telling Ash.

The look on Miss Randy's face was one of complete shock. She looked down at the folder, the up at Eiji, then back at the folder. A deep sigh escaped her lips before she put the folder to the side and ran her hand through her hair, long locks becoming tangled in that stressed way.

"Wow... Okay, Eiji, that is not what I expected. I thought you'd done something bad," Miss Randy confessed with wide eyes and a confused expression. "Well... Maybe you did. I don't know Eiji, you're going to have to explain. Only say what you think is necessary, I won't force you to say anything uncomfortable."

That was less pressure then, he didn't have to mention any names or disgrace himself further by sharing the details of any intercourse or discovering the pregnancy.

"I was w-with an alpha... We rushed into things, I got pregnant... He left me b-because I disgraced him," he admitted simply, saying the words with such conviction that the poor guidance officer would have to deal with the fact that it was completely the omega's fault. She would have to give him a record and set up plans for him and waste her time on a reckless lost cause.

Miss Randy twirled her pen in her hands and gave Eiji an assessing look before shaking her head and starting to write notes. Unable to stop his growing paranoia and the panicked voice in his head, Eiji tried his hardest to see what she was writing without being too obvious about it. The attempt was a failure and he simply slumped in his seat, giving up and placing a hand gently on top of his stomach.

She soon enough stopped writing and looked at Eiji with eyes that were hard as stone. A sickness rose in his stomach. She was angry, so angry, she believed he had let himself down. He had let himself down, he knew it, all by being weak, weak, weak...!

"Woah! Woah, Eiji. Take deep breaths. Breathe, now." 

Without even realising it his breathing had gotten faster and his hands had started that violent shaking. Another panic attack, the second in one day. This never used to happen, but now this new life had started to grow inside him and Arthur had chosen to make his life a living hell... Now it seemed like he couldn't stop himself.

He forced himself to take controlled breaths and shook his hands around to get the blood circulating through them. Once he settled a minute or two later he looked at the guidance officer with a guilty expression and just wished he could wither into the ground.

"Are you okay? I shouldn't speak this way to a student, but... You're an idiot. You're an idiot for believing that any of this is your fault. We all know you, Eiji, you are the most careful and responsible student we've ever had... If there was no protection used, if there was no support available to you, then anyone with half a brain will figure out that the alpha did this to you."

Again he found support where he expected to find judgement, and he was starting to wonder if he was luckier than he realised. Where the staff were concerned anyway. Students were still a different matter, but maybe with time he could ignore them?

"Thank you, Miss Randy."

"Don't thank me, Eiji. Now, I know, and I'll start seeing what resources we have available to offer you educational support," she offered with a smile before putting the notes she wrote into the folder she labelled. Before long she waved with her hand before giving him a calm look. "Now, head off to your free period. Spend it in the library to avoid unwanted attention, then make sure you keep a low profile at lunch. Don't draw any unwanted attention that will make your school life harder. Keep your head down but keep your chin up."

\----

His free period passed by uneventfully. He brushed up on his journalism knowledge and started to work on the introduction to his photography portfolio. The librarian made sure none of the other students bothered him, not that there were many there to begin with. Although, none of the others so much as stared which Eiji took as a really good sign. 

Working on things was a pleasant distraction from the event that had turned his world upside down. For the first time in the past two days his pregnancy wasn't at the front of his mind. Obviously it was still there, crying out for notice in the back of his head, but coursework occupied enough of his mind that he didn't bother thinking of it.

In fact, he was so engrossed in his work that he completely blocked out the sound of the bell. The librarian had to tell him that it was time for lunch and he gave her a simple smile, thanking her before packing up his things. 

Honestly, he felt more relaxed than he had in days. He felt ready to go to lunch and face the full cafeteria, he felt ready to face and talk to Ash. Once he had stored his things safely away in his locker he headed to the cafeteria. Nowhere near as dreadful as he expected. Most students were too busy messing around and talking to even pay attention to him. He could ignore the few dirty stares he got from Arthur's loyal friends.

Without fuss or drawing attention to himself he paid for some lunch, a very simple jacket potato with some mashed potato on the side. He carried it very simply to an empty table at the back of the cafeteria, making sure to avoid the tables of loud alphas that had a similar brand to Arthur. They were the last people he wanted to be near, Arthur made him wary of all people who gave off a similar energy.

Not long after sitting down alone he started to get worried. What if Ash hadn't been serious about letting him talk things through? What if he had found out and didn't want to support a teenaged pregnant whore? Just as he was about to panic he smelled it. A sweet and soft scent invading his senses and relaxing him in the most bizarre way. Lemon and sandalwood. An alpha. Ash. Some friends of his too, it seemed.

"Heya, Eiji. Sorry we're late, but we're here now."


	3. Meet The Gang

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm feeling motivated so fuck the upload schedule apparently, because if it's done I have no patience to wait for uploading it!  
> Man, you guys are going to hate me so bad when I lose momentum and start uploading weekly :')  
> Well, enjoy this while it last guys, and I hope you like this slightly more upbeat chapter!  
> Now, if only Eiji would stop hating on himself, this one would be perfect!
> 
> \- Vasser x

"You really came...?" He couldn't help his surprised words as he watched the alpha sit opposite him along with two betas. Ash seemed nice enough, and so did the first beta, but the second one seemed cold and unwelcoming. Eiji couldn't help the little shiver that ran down his spine and regretted it instantly as Ash noticed and frowned deeply. Not in a disapproving way, but in an almost sad way. 

It was strange. This alpha didn't really know him at all and yet he was trying so hard to accommodate him, seemingly hating his discomfort at all in both of their interactions. He was an enigma of an alpha.

"What's wrong, Eiji? No one here is going to hate you," he tried to reassure in that soft voice of his, almost sounding a little playful. There was this magic tone he seemed to add to his words reminiscent of laughter that made him seem so ordinary and trustworthy, nothing like an alpha at all. The omega almost felt sheepish at being scared with Ash around, despite having no actual reason for trusting him aside from one short interaction that could quite easily have several different ulterior motives behind it.

No, that line of thinking would do him no good. He was in no position to turn away the offer of support or even just a person to talk to. There was no way he was going to mess this up for himself. Slowly, he forced himself to sit straighter and relax his posture and let out a subtle but deep breath to ground himself. 

"I'm sorry, I just...," he trailed off for a moment, thinking. He didn't want to offend anyone, but it seemed like honesty was the best policy with Ash. If he truly wanted someone to talk to then the last thing he should be considering is lying and making himself uncomfortable by treading on eggshells around the alpha and his friends. "I just got a little nervous when I saw the expression on his face," finished Eiji sheepishly, gesturing subtly to the short black-haired beta. 

Ash seemed taken aback by this and looked at the beta before looking at the friendlier one. The friendly beta and Ash then finally just started to laugh, tears actually rolling down the beta's cheeks due to the force of his laughter. The grumpy one went a little red in the face and Eiji became alarmed, wondering if he might lose his temper.

His scent obviously sparked with confusion and concern because Ash slowly forced himself to calm down, running his hand through his blonde hair and tousling it as he tried to get a grip. It seemed like a hard task; the jolly beta wouldn't stop laughing and every time Ash heard his friend's laughter he seemed to lose it a little again. Eventually he realised he couldn't stop and gave up, so the happier beta started to explain though laughs.

"D-don't worry, kid! Sing only looks like that because he's just as scared of you! He's the most socially awkward person I know, I promise he doesn't have it in for you," he wheezed out through laughter. The shorter beta, called Sing apparently, finally gave into his impulses and hit the other playfully in the arm before burying his head in his hands. So he was just embarrassed and nervous too... That was somewhat of a relief.

At Sing's embarrassment and light show of aggression the laughing pair seemed to lose it again and...what could Eiji say? Laughter was contagious, especially when someone lost their cool so thoroughly. He joined in, starting to laugh in both awkwardness and joy and he realised that these people already seemed comfortable around him, enough so that they could be playful and laugh around him.

Once they finally settled down Ash gave Eiji a bright grin and Sing directed his glare towards his friends. Eiji couldn't help but keep smiling around these people, placing a hand on his stomach and feeling a flicker of happiness that he had believed impossible to feel when he woke up this morning. Yes, things weren't great, but maybe in his head he had painted the day to be worse than it turned out to be in reality.

The group started to slowly eat and Sing kept eyeing Eiji for a while before giving in and nudging the other beta. He whispered something in his ear and the taller beta rolled his eyes and muttered something along the lines of 'ask him yourself'. After a brief war evident in his expression Sing finally spoke.

"We s-should introduce ourselves. I'm Sing Soo-Ling, you already know Ash, and that purple-headed idiot is Shorter Wong," he grumbled out in an oddly shy way before Shorter gave him a joking pout, nudging him with his elbow.

"Are you really going to call your boyfriend an idiot?" The whine was obviously good-natured and Eiji managed a tiny laugh at the antic.

What Shorter said soon registered and he wondered if they were seriously together or if the taller beta was just trying to torment Sing. Maybe it was better not to ask, he had only just met them after all. 

Soon enough he turned to Ash and smiled awkwardly before addressing the group as a whole, trying quietly to stop Sing and Shorter's bickering so that he could introduce himself to them politely. It seemed to be too big of a job for him though, and Ash gave him a pitying glance before glaring at his friends.

"Come on guys, knock it off. Eiji seems real mild-mannered so he can't talk to you if you keep going on like that," he lectured easily, not bothering to hide the fact that he was commanding them. Then again, he was an alpha. Giving commands was his second nature, he wouldn't really be that different to other alphas after all. Well, at least the betas went quiet, not even seeming annoyed about being told off.

"It's nice to meet you, Sing and Shorter. My name is Eiji Okumura," he introduced simply. Shorter's eyes started to widen as he recognised the name. Panic sparked in Eiji's chest as he started to wonder whether the violet-haired beta had already been influenced by Arthur's telling of the tale and all the hatred that had radiated from the other students in the hall.

He tried his best to stay calm and forced himself to meet Shorter's eye, but that just made the situation worse. There was no way to know what Shorter was going to say or do, and whether whatever he said would influence Ash and Sing's opinions of him. Again in his head he was lecturing himself for letting this happen. He had no one but himself to blame for this complication.

"Okumura? As in the omega who was in a relationship with Arthur? Man, how did a timid thing like you survive that dickhead?"

Wait, what? Had he jumped to conclusions and panicked for no reason again? The words and the tone... Shorter really hated Arthur. Ash's expression turned to one of faint disgust at the mention of Arthur's name, and Sing looked just as bad. But they were disgusted at Arthur, not him. Though they didn't know he was pregnant yet... Possibly, it would be okay though. If they hated Arthur just as much as him then maybe they would take his side...

His own thoughts surprised him, he had just thought them with pure emotion rather than logic. Hate? Was that really how he felt about Arthur? He had been with him for five months and they had only broken up yesterday, Eiji shouldn't be feeling anything as strong as hate. In fact, he shouldn't be feeling anything but shame, it was his own fault in the first place!

He snapped out of his daze when he realised he hadn't spoken and collected himself before nodding meekly, trying to ignore the guilt churning in his stomach. How could he so easily think that he hated someone he was having sex with only a few days before?

"Yes, I was...with him. It... It didn't t-turn out well for me, that's why Ash found me crying this morning..."

Shorter nodded knowingly, like he understood completely why Eiji would be upset even though he didn't know the full story.

"Yeah, that asshole got you pregnant and then tried to play victim after abandoning you, right? It's all anyone in class was talking about all morning," he rambled casually before rolling his eyes and sending a glare towards Arthur and his group of alpha followers. "Like, seriously, how does anyone believe him? He's so self-satisfied that it's so obvious he isn't a victim here. He did this to you, you didn't do this to him. What an ass!"

So apparently he did know the full story. Eiji wasn't sure whether to feel ashamed, relieved, or angry that the beta just blurted everything out like that. It seemed like he was someone with no filter at all, but also someone that meant well. Anger was off the table, Shorter was trying to stand up for him in a way even though he didn't know him. In the end he chose the shame, letting it colour his face red as he noticed Sing staring at him in disbelief and Ash schooling his features into a serious, almost angry gaze.

He looked down at his hands and prepared himself for the harsh words that would come from their mouths. This morning's instinct had been right, everyone did believe it was his fault. There was no one who would be on his side. A voice in his head tried to protest that Shorter was standing up for him, but his paranoia swallowed the logical thought and replaced it with a consistent chant of 'they all hate me, they all hate me'.

"Shh... Eiji, come on, just like this morning. Keep your breathing steady," Ash instructed in an authoritative tone, going full alpha and leaving no room for argument. As much as Eiji didn't want to listen he knew it was for his own good and he forced himself to control his breathing, taking deep breaths in and out. He hadn't been panicking, but it was better to contain everything before it even started. "Good boy, just like that." The approving words sank into his mind and his inner omega shuddered in relief at being praised by someone. Even though it shouldn't have, it again put him at ease.

"Now. Did Arthur seriously do that to you? Because if he made you pregnant and then refused to take responsibility I might actually kick his ass," he said, not a hint of that joking tone from earlier. Ash was deadly serious, if Eiji confirmed that Arthur had left him then he would defend him if it was necessary. That was more than the omega had dared to hope for, and he managed to smile at Ash. 

"You don't need to," he said honestly before looking over at Arthur briefly, a strange mixture of feelings in his chest. It was something he would deal with later. He looked back to the three friends and gave them a slightly brighter smile this time. "I never even expected anyone to stand up for me or believe me, that's more than enough."

Sing gave Eiji an assessing look before actually managing a strange half-smirk, half-smile. An odd but comforting gesture, it made him feel like he was part of their group in a strange way. Eventually he gave Sing a nod of appreciation before looking back at Shorter.

"I'm really surprised you don't think I'm a slut," he admitted with pink cheeks, casting his eyes down slightly. "That's what everybody else thinks."

Ash narrowed his eyes at that and shook his head insistently, holding his hand up in protest. Without words he pointed over to the alpha table. What could be there that was relevant? Out of curiosity he followed Ash's gesture and watched as an omega perched himself on an alpha's lap, giving all the alphas around him seductive and flirty attention like he was experienced in the area.

He had to wonder what thoughts went through that omega's head, why he would make himself so readily available to all of those alphas. Yes, omegas were always told that their job was to please alphas, but did he really have to go that far with it?

"That, Eiji, is Yut-Lung Lee. He is 16 years old, presented as an omega two years ago, has had three abortions and 19 different sexual partners since presenting, and he can't cope when someone tells him no," he started with a mildly uncomfortable look, almost as if he had to experience dealing with saying 'no' to Yut-Lung first-hand. "That is a real slut. You're nothing like that, Eiji."

Sing looked over at Yut-Lung with an almost sad sigh before nodding at Ash's words, agreeing with them even though he looked mildly uncomfortable doing so. He couldn't find it in him to question the beta though, so he looked again towards the table and watched again as Yut-Lung draped his long black hair over his shoulder and made doe-eyes at the alpha sitting next to Arthur.

It was an extreme point of comparison and an almost uncomfortable point to make, but Ash was right. Eiji was still at fault, he had still done things very wrong, but just maybe he wasn't a slut at the very least. That made him feel just a little better. 

"Thank you Ash."

"It's no problem. You deserve better, Eiji. Omegas like you deserve better," the alpha said with such conviction that Eiji himself wanted to believe that maybe Ash was right. Just maybe he deserved something more.

Soon enough he pushed the thought from his head and decided how he wanted to deal with things from now on. Turning his ex into the villain of the tale like Shorter did before had made Eiji beyond conflicted, so maybe addressing that was a good place to start. Making up his mind, he turned to Shorter again. 

"What you said, Shorter, about Arthur... I know he seems horrible and he is most of the time, but I still don't think you should say bad things about him. If we tell the story to paint him completely as the villain then we're no better than him," he insisted with an awkward expression. Maybe Arthur was an awful person, but that didn't make him wrong in this scenario. Eiji was the one who didn't speak up, who didn't say no, who didn't ask for protection. He had a lot of the blame.

Sing didn't look entirely convinced and Shorter looked at the omega like he was completely insane. They completely blamed Arthur for Eiji's misfortune, never considering the infractions of the omega himself. 

Ash's look was the worst though. For some reason he looked beyond horrified at what Eiji had said, like he couldn't bear to hear him say such a thing. His scent had turned sad, the lemon smell turning too sour and the pleasant sandalwood disappearing completely. It confused him and made him worried. It had such an effect on Ash, almost like it was personal.

Apparently Eiji was staring now, because the two betas became uncomfortable at the tense air crackling between the alpha and the omega, and Ash's scent sprung back to normality as he forced his sadness away when he caught the omega's stare. 

"Okay, whatever you think is best, Eiji," was all the alpha ended up saying in the end before eating his lunch while deep in thought. "It's probably best if we just don't mention the pregnancy for now. There's an actual person behind the baby," he tried to joke, though it sounded half-hearted. It distracted everyone perfectly, however, and Eiji soon found himself faced with Shorter's over-excited grin.

"Yeah, what do you study, Eiji? You're 17, right? So you just do three subjects now!" Normal conversation seemed almost foreign to him already after an entire morning of talking about the pregnancy and nothing but the pregnancy. The change back was definitely welcomed though. It meant he could block it out for a while, pretend.

"I do journalism, classic literature and photography," he listed simply, smiling a little at the last one. Photography was easy and uncomplicated. He loved it so much because of that. All he had to do was hold a camera and find the beauty that his day to day life had to offer. 

Shorter and Ash both seemed to want to know more about photography and the omega happily provided the details, spending a while describing the different functions of a camera in between bites of food. Even Sing started to seem a little interested towards the end. In turn, a full conversation evolved about everyone's school life.

Shorter was a rather free spirit and studied cooking, art and drama. Sing was slightly more reserved, sticking to sports, biology and sports science. They were both interested in their subjects. Sing didn't talk all that much, but Shorter spent a good ten minutes gushing about how much he enjoyed cooking, dropping random and relevant facts about his life here and there.

"...and my sister runs the greatest Chinese restaurant ever! Once I graduate I want to be a chef there," he said with a big smile, enthusiasm flowing in his words. The beta was motivated, he had a goal, and there was seemingly nothing stopping him. It was incredible.

As incredible as Shorter was, however, Ash was in a league of his own. The boy was a certified genius. Unlike everyone else he was studying four subjects, and he was expected to get the highest grades in all four of his classes. History, chemistry, maths and German. On top of that, under his father he apparently had already learned to speak fluent French and studied cultures from all over the world. For all that information to fit into Ash's head at once he definitely had to be a genius.

Eiji must have looked completely awestruck because the alpha took one look at him and chuckled. He stood up simply and picked up his tray, glancing at Eiji the whole time.

"I can teach you sometime, if you want," he offered in a friendly manner. The chance to pick Ash's brain about a variety of things suddenly seemed like an amazing opportunity, he knew so much for saying he was only 17 like Eiji. He nodded eagerly and couldn't help smiling brightly at the pleased look the other boy got when he accepted his offer. "Then it's a deal. Come sit with us again tomorrow, Eiji, and have a nice day."

With that Ash walked off and the omega turned his attention back to the betas. Or beta, apparently. Shorter was already getting up and running off after Ash, starting to chat in an animated way when he caught up to him. Sing rolled his eyes again and Eiji laughed faintly, feeling more relaxed than he did around this person half an hour ago.

The bell rang loudly and there was a lot of movement as everyone started to file out of the cafeteria to head to their classes. The omega looked at Sing one last time and bowed to him politely, making the short boy raise his eyebrows.

"It was really nice to meet you, Sing," he said honestly as he rose from his seat and got ready to leave. The beta stood at the same time and, surprisingly, gave Eiji and awkward and tough-looking smile.

"Keep your chin up, Okumura. These assholes don't know your story," he said in parting before heading off to class.


	4. A Step Forward

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year! Here is your gift, a lengthy-ish chapter packed with what I hope is the good stuff!  
> I hope you enjoy!
> 
> \- Vasser x

It stayed relaxed for a good week. Nothing had changed. People still avoided Eiji like a fatal disease, he still worried every day about how he was supposed to tell him parents, and he was still undeniably pregnant. Things were just good enough that Eiji wanted to stay as he was for a little while and pretend to be a normal omega with friends. Wanting to enjoy his life for a while wasn't a crime...

A week after their initial meeting Eiji was still having lunch with Ash, Shorter and Sing, and he really enjoyed it. Shorter was definitely the loudest of the group and the biggest comedian of them all. In comparison, Sing (who it turned out was in fact Shorter's boyfriend) was a quiet rock that kept his lover from drifting too far off into the clouds. Well, if rocks could blush and stutter. They complimented each other well, and somehow Eiji felt like he slotted nicely into their group.

As more time passed though, he found that Ash truly was in a league of his own. The alpha was undeniably Shorter and Sing's best friend, but he seemed far less present. Often he would leave early or disappear for no reason and he was quieter than he first appeared, hardly ever joining in with conversation. It seemed like he was content to just listen. When he decided to talk he melded into Shorter and Sing's excitement perfectly, but at other times he looked like a spectator to their happiness and energy. Maybe he was just overthinking, but Eiji couldn't help but get the impression that Ash wasn't as easy-going as he made people believe.

Laughter erupted to the side of him and he jumped in surprise before turning to look at Shorter, who was red in the face from the force of his hysterics. Sing had promptly face-planted the table when he noticed people from the tables around them also turning to look. That was another thing, the taller beta didn't seem to give a damn what people thought about him, but the smaller beta cared very much. 

"Um... What's going on?" He almost dreaded the answer with the way Shorter was behaving. His oh-so-loving boyfriend swatted Shorter on the arm before giving Eiji the most embarrassed and pitying look he had ever seen.

"Y-you didn't even hear what we said Eiji, you were so busy making m-moon eyes at Ash," the bigger beta wheezed out before finally calming down as the omega blushed in embarrassment. That wasn't what was going on, what did Shorter think of him to assume that he was pining after Ash?! He shook his head rapidly, staring at him in disbelief.

Ash had choked on something at the words as well and was giving his friend a tiny glare. He couldn't tell whether it was anger directed at Shorter or vague annoyance due to Eiji's staring. Either way, the atmosphere got a little bit too tense for Eiji. Ash's scent hadn't changed though, was he maybe just glaring jokingly? He didn't know but he still didn't like it right now.

"T-that isn't what was happening Shorter! I was just deep in thought," he protested before seeing Shorter ready to tease further. He jumped in before the beta got the chance. "I was thinking about how Ash is actually a lot quieter than he first seemed." 

At the clarification Shorter just gave a teasing pout and shrugged, as if to imply that he didn't quite believe Eiji's words. He just hoped he wouldn't continue to tease in the future, that wasn't what was between him and Ash after all. They barely knew each other, Ash had simply offered him support through a tough time. The logical part of Eiji's brain was fine with this, relieved that Ash had no ulterior motives, but his inner omega cried out at the lack of affection and love from the alpha even if he wished it would just be quiet.

"Well, go on, dumbass! You know Eiji didn't hear you, so ask again," Sing lectured his boyfriend as he gestured wildly to the omega. He couldn't help but laugh a little again, the dynamic between the betas to light and comical for him to stay so deep in his own head.

"Sing and I are going to a local music festival this weekend, do you wanna come with?"

Eiji thought he might jump for joy. Even his old friends when he was younger never invited him anywhere. After he presented as an omega he stopped even having real friends, so for two really friendly betas to invite him out... It made him ridiculously happy. He gave them and bright smile before nodding eagerly.

Then he noticed Ash's face. His expression was tense and he was worrying over his bottom lip. He had never seen an alpha feel at all uncomfortable, let alone go as far as biting their lip. Ash didn't seem to notice the omega watching, he was in a world of his own, he looked isolated. He looked weirdly close to how Eiji felt the morning after he found out he was pregnant. Almost as if he wasn't comfortable himself and felt like a separate being from all others in existence.

It was sad to see Ash like this. He needed to find s way to bring him back, it was important. The alpha had come to him in a time of need, had introduced him to others who wanted him around. Should he try to help? There was something he had to be able to do... Eventually he realised that there was nothing, he didn't even know what was wrong. How could he possibly help? The best he could do was bring him back into the conversation.

"Will you be coming, Ash?" A harmless enough question that brought him both into the conversation and the weekend plans. Eiji gave a slight reassuring smile and had to resist the urge he had to scent Ash to cheer him up. That wasn't something a near-complete stranger would do to an alpha. Most alphas hated omegas scenting them anyway, saw it as a sign of weakness.

The blonde seemed surprised but also relieved and grateful to see Eiji putting in the effort to include him. Just as he was about to answer, though, Shorter made a scoffing noise and Ash narrowed his eyes at his friend almost in warning. Sing was giving Shorter the same warning look, but the beta just ignores both of them and shook his head at Eiji. For once Shorter's face was not particularly cheerful.

"As if Ash would come. His adoptive dad is a complete prick, he never let's Ash leave the house unless it's some special event he pre-planned for him."

That was odd. Did Ash's father really boss him around like that? As an alpha he thought Ash would receive more respect and freedom from his parents. On top of that, he was adopted too...

Those facts could explain why Ash seemed so much more kind and respectful to the other ranks around him. He never would have guessed in a million years. Although, why anyone would adopt such an amazing alpha just to limit him was beyond confusing. Who would do that?

"Yes, he's a nice kid, but we still barely know Eiji. Don't talk about my personal shit in front of other people," he hissed lowly at Shorter, scent becoming stranger. Suddenly the lemons were again too sour, and there was a heavy undertone of a sickly spice that seemed almost like it could poison someone. Ash's angry scent was something Eiji hoped to never experience again, it was awful...

To his credit, Shorter didn't seem to be afraid of the alpha. He stared directly back with a serious expression. Both boys had tensed up their jaws and the beta was clenching and unclenching his fists like he might actually punch Ash if he used that tone of voice on him again. Did it not concern Shorter at all that he was an alpha?! Surely Ash would be far stronger than him, and alphas were supposed o expect obedience from other ranks! 

Sing was silent but still trying to diffuse the situation. He placed his hand on top of the angry beta's and ran his thumb gently across the knuckles in a subtle movement while Ash and Shorter had their staring match. Eiji tried desperately to think of something he could do to calm Ash but came up with nothing. The only thing in his favour was that he was an omega while the other was an alpha. His scent could calm Ash, but he wasn't sure whether that would be crossing some unspoken line.

Soon enough the tension evaporated. Shorter calmed down slowly from Sing's touches and he and Ash looked away from one another awkwardly. Maybe it was a trick of the imagination, but Eiji swore that there was something broken and humiliated in Ash's face. Then again, he could just be trying too hard to sympathise with the alpha.

"For fuck's sake, Shorter, just- think before you speak," he snapped, only slightly softer than before. Without any opportunity for anyone to protest Ash stood up, abandoning his half-eaten lunch on the table and storming off. Everyone in the lunch hall turned to stare as they caught a whiff of the alpha's sour and raging scent. A few of the other alphas were laughing at him, but he just left without paying them any mind.

Once Ash was out of sight Eiji hung his head and started to nervously bite at his bottom lip. Even though he wasn't the one to speak he couldn't help but feel like this was his fault. All Ash had tried to do was help him and now conversations he was having with the alpha's friends were causing fights.

"... You're a dumbass. Shorter, you are such a dumbass!" The quiet cries drew Eiji's attention and he noticed that Sing had become some level of... Definitely not completely angry, so frustrated? "Learn to put a damn filter in! Ash has a point," he lectured sternly.

"I know, I know!" Shorter rested his chin on his hand and let out a deep sigh. "I'll apologise to him later. I don't mean to upset him, stuff just slips out sometimes," he defended before looking at Eiji. "Sorry you had to see all of that, Okumura."

As badly as Eiji wanted to tell Shorter it was fine, he had a feeling that saying the wrong thing could add fuel to the fire. He merely gave the two betas a meek smile before continuing to eat his lunch in silence, trying far too hard to avoid looking at the tray still on the other side of the table.

"Well, still come with us this weekend, Eiji. You're our friend, we want you to come with us," Sing said with an awkward attempt at an easy smile. The omega smiled, appreciating the effort. For a moment he believed that everything would be peaceful for the rest of the day.

Then he heard Shorter curse.

Eiji stared at the beta with a questioning look before freezing when he felt a hand on his shoulder, warm and weighty. The scent that came along with it... The bitter coffee, the pungent flowers... What did he want, what was he doing over here, why was he touching him, why-!

Without a moment of hesitation Shorter darted up and grabbed Arthur's wrist, removing his hand from Eiji. It didn't stop the growing panic, but it helped a little. With these people the omega was at least slightly protected, he had to remember that and calm down.

"What do you want," Sing stated rather than asked, giving a poisonous look to the person behind them. Finally, Eiji dared to turn and look. Arthur was stood there the same as ever, and he would have been looming over Eiji if Shorter hadn't pushed between them. Unexpectedly, the omega called Yut-Lung was hanging onto Arthur's arm looking just like a prized pet.

Arthur had wasted no time in grabbing a new omega and deep inside Eiji was hurt at the fact he took someone new so easily. How could he ever believe he meant anything to Arthur now? He had caused himself all this trouble and given into the alpha's advances for no good reason at all. It was all pointless. 

"It's such a typical beta weakness to take in a disgusting little whore omega and give it comfort," he said with a smirked, running his hand deliberately through Yut-Lung's hair. A fierce blush of embarrassment flared up on the Japanese omega's cheeks and he wished desperately that the ground would swallow him.

Shorter narrowed his eyes and looked at his omega friend briefly before turning to Arthur with a cold smile. Everything was going to escalate, he could already sense the trouble that was following along behind his ex. The best he could hope for was that they won't fight, there couldn't be a fight. He didn't need even more attention brought to his situation.

"Oh, I see a whore here, but it's not an omega." 

No, no, no. Why did Shorter have no filter, why did he have to say exactly what he was thinking? He was insane, he just called an alpha a whore! Arthur's proud expression faltered momentarily before he soon smirked and made a show of running a hand across his omega's backside. Yut-Lung let himself visibly shiver and Eiji felt more self-conscious. This new omega didn't even know him so why was he helping Arthur torment him?

"Do you see how those below me behave, Yut-Lung? A beta dares to talk back to an alpha as they try to cling onto the filth they think they can nurture. Useless idiots, all of them," he purred to his omega in a light and taunting voice. It was clearly aimed at their group though, he was using Yut-Lung to address them while not stopping to the level of actually talking to them. "Any decent alpha would never take in trash like Eiji."

Shorter absolutely lost it. He started screaming and cursing at Arthur and went to hit him, but Eiji (much to his own surprise) got up faster than he thought he could move and grabbed Shorter's arm with all his strength. 

He was strong for an omega and managed to stop the punch, much to Sing's surprise by the expression on his face. The enraged beta breathed heavily and stared at Eiji with surprisingly wild eyes before giving up and relaxing, signalling that he wasn't going to punch Arthur. Though his face still said that he thought the alpha very much deserved it.

"You come over here and insult Ash. It might be indirect, but we're not stupid. Don't dig at Ash, because he is twice the alpha you will ever be," Shorter said with a biting tone before patting Eiji's head casually. The omega finally let go of Shorter's arm but remained stood up, looking between the angry beta and the alpha.

Yut-Lung was looking at Eiji curiously and looked almost as if he didn't believe what he was seeing. Well, whatever his problem was, he didn't want to know anymore. He wished he just didn't have to see or speak to Arthur ever again. This was enough, he just wanted this horrible interaction to end so that Sing could calm Shorter down.

"Ha, Ash is practically a beta. He hangs around with you and your beta boyfriend instead of the other alphas, he's too soft on omegas, and he let's you punks get away with talking back to him. I'm a real alpha, unlike Ash, so if you want to get away from this I think you should sit down and shut your mouth."

Apparently this wasn't going to end yet. Shorter looked like he wanted nothing more than to give Arthur a piece of his mind. Considering briefly, Eiji realised that the two males were the same height and actually both had a fair bit of muscle on them. Arthur had natural alpha strength in his favour, but with Shorter's brute temper... If they were to fight he firmly believed that Shorter might actually emerge as the champion. Eiji smiled a little at the thought without thinking.

Then he noticed Arthur staring at him and the smile dropped. He had that condescending smirk on his face, the one that let you know that he thoroughly believed he was better than you. That smirk was reserved for days when he really wanted to belittle Eiji, practically demolish the omega's self-esteem. 

"You won't be smiling for long, Eiji, not once you're an unmated omega with a child that I bet your poor ass can't even support. You really were stupid to let yourself get pregnant, you're a disgrace compared to an omega like Yut-Lung," the alpha started, Eiji feeling his heart drop into his stomach as he prepared to again be blamed. "Yut-Lung here has managed to be a good boy and serve every alpha who wants him. He understands he owes it to the alphas to present himself whenever we want. The best part is that he's never gotten pregnant from it at all. He is and always will be a better omega than you, Eiji. No one is going to want you with omegas like this around."

The words disgusted the poor omega and made him feel vulnerable and fragile again. Until he realised. The point may have been petty and pointless, but hadn't Ash said that Yut-Lung had three abortions? Yut-Lung was currently resting on Arthur's shoulder, looking like the cat who got the cream, but maybe the adoration he received was all based on lies. 

For some reason the realisation made him take Arthur's words less seriously. Even someone Arthur approved of seemed to be hiding something and wasn't what he seemed. So Eiji did what he believed was finally best for him to do.

"You've a-always belittled me Arthur, you made me f-feel like I had no choices and you made me feel horrible about myself," he stated with a trembling voice, making himself look directly into Arthur's eyes. This was terrifying, but it was best to do it. If Shorter could stand up for Eiji after only a week of knowing him, then Eiji could stand up for himself. "I've had enough and I think i-it's time for you to go away."

The look on the alpha's face was horrifying. He went red in instant temper and his scent became violently domineering over all other smells in the area. Eiji wanted nothing more than to instinctively shrink back and apologise, but he forced himself to hold his ground. Even Yut-Lung had the common sense to look a little uncomfortable.

"These unruly beta fucks talking back to me is one thing, but a weak little omega? You made a mistake Eiji, and before I'm through with you I promise you will never consider talking back to anyone ever again!"

With that furious declaration Arthur stomped away, dragging Yut-Lung along behind him possessively. Forget wishing Arthur had genuinely loved him at one point, what had he ever seen in Arthur? A combination of a too-short romance and a week of piss-poor treatment had revealed Arthur's true colours and without guilt Eiji could actually firmly say he was not going to miss him at all.

He sat down in a slight daze, unable to believe that he'd done that, and soon enough was faced with Shorter sitting across from him grinning from ear to ear. He shook his head and blinked furiously as he tried to focus back on reality instead of reliving standing up to Arthur in his head.

"Eiji, that was damn impressive! Good job," Shorter said while still grinned, leaning over and giving the omega an enthusiastic pat on the shoulder. It was nice to be told he did something good, and standing up for himself made him feel invincible. He was unable to resist smiling too.

He looked over at Sing who looked equally impressed and horrified by what happened and couldn't help laughing a little. Sing's head snapped towards Eiji and finally he also smiled, looking almost insane with the smile he had put on.

"You two morons... Never do that again, I seriously thought that guy was going to beat the hell out of you," he breathed out through his grin, laughing nervously towards the end.

Positive energy was starting to buzz back between the three of them, and Eiji was actually glad that Ash hadn't been here to experience Arthur's horrible mood. Somehow, he believed that if Ash had been here he would have let the alpha do all the defending and he never would have made this development. Maybe, as an omega, he didn't have to limit himself in the same ways he believed.

Speaking of Ash, though... There was something odd about everything. When Ash spoke about Yut-Lung's abortions before he said it with such conviction that Eiji knew it was fact, and for him to so openly say it he assumed it was common knowledge. But Arthur didn't know, so others likely didn't either. How on Earth did Ash know this about Yut-Lung? There was a connection or a secret that Ash was hiding, and that made the omega feel very nervous. When alphas hid things it was never good...

Now wasn't the time for that though. He could worry about that later, when he actually ran into Ash again. Or maybe just when the time was actually appropriate. He wasn't going to ruin a day by bringing it up if Ash was in a good mood.

"Thank you, Shorter. I didn't expect you to stick up for me," he said while grinning, and Shorter just gave him the best expression he could hope for. It was an expression of friendship, a confused 'why the hell wouldn't I' face, and Eiji loved it.

"Anyway! With that mess done with, I say we get out of here. Shorter will go find Ash and apologise. Sincerely," Sing said with a pointed look at his boyfriend. Shorter looked sheepish for once and nodded at the shorter beta in an accepting manner. "We'll see you tomorrow at the festival then, Eiji. Ten in the morning outside the TV station."

The omega giggled a little as he watched the two of them head off to find Ash, bickering all the way. He felt lighter than air and firmly believed he could do this from now on. All that panicking over the first week... Nothing had turned out as badly as Eiji expected. As long as he had his friends from now on, he could live this life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, hope you liked it! Who doesn't love a good confrontation. Oh, I'm sorry, did I say good? I mean a horrible nasty verbal tournament between a precious bean and a rotting scumbag! ^^  
> Eiji is doing good, but who knows what bat is gonna hit from which direction next?
> 
> \- Vasser x


	5. Must I Confess?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh wow, I am so so sorry that this has taken so long, but I've been so damn busy, and I've been too tired to find my Mojo TwT  
> Luckily though I finally managed to get this done! I hope everyone enjoys! Positive reviews and constructive criticism both welcome, just no negative 'this is so shit' bullshit ^^  
> If there's something you don't like, explain it politely and properly so I can improve on it~.
> 
> \- Vasser

On the morning of the festival Eiji made sure to wake up early so he could shower. Last night he had searched for details about the festival on the internet, and he found out that the festival was an annual thing in the city of New York that encouraged local aspiring musicians to come along and perform their pieces. Any rank was accepted for the line up, and the omega instantly took a liking to the event. It sounded inclusive, fun and original.

A perfect way to get out of the house and avoid his parents.

Shame and sickness battled inside him whenever they entered the room. Luckily it still wasn't possible to scent it on him yet, so he had managed to avoid telling them about the pregnancy this entire time. How could he tell them when he knew that all their hopes and aspirations for him would be shattered...? But he knew he had no choice. It was a confession he would have to make soon, because his scent would finally start to reveal the secret in the next few days. Not today though. Today he just wanted to enjoy himself one last time.

Today he was going to ban any thoughts of the pregnancy from his head. Theoretically, in his head, if the baby didn't exist for a day then neither did the stress. Just for one day he would pretend that he wasn't going to experience something life-changing over the next nine months. With that determination he got dressed into a new pair of jeans and a nice sweater before heading downstairs.

Instantly, the smell of breakfast assaulted him. Mostly he and his family ate typically American foods, but once every so often his mother would make a traditional Japanese meal. Today was one of those days. He managed a weak smile and tried not to be anxious about seeing his parents this morning. No baby, no stress. 'Pretend to be normal', he encouraged himself.

His mother turned and gave him a bright smile as he walked in, and Eiji stared in delight at the food on the table. She had truly outdone herself this time, there were small bowls of mixed rice that had chunks of salmon in, there were small portions of miso soup and grilled fish, then to top it all off everyone had their own small portion of natto. Delicious.

"Morning, Eiji. You were an early bird this morning," she pointed out with a happy smile. "Not that I'm complaining, it's good for children to wake up early instead of staying in bed all day!" She was so insistent about it that Eiji didn't have the heart to point out that he never slept in. He gave a polite agreeing nod before sitting down at the table and waiting.

His father came into the room fully dressed for work and dropped a kiss to the top of his beta wife's head before silently taking the seat at the head of the table. It seemed like he was still half asleep, it was sweet. His father looked like a tough man on first impression but really he was a big softy. Honestly, before Ash, his father was the only decent alpha he knew. 

Despite Mister Okumura's appearance and rank, he behaved so politely and respectfully. Most people assume he's a beta when they meet him, maybe even possibly just a really strangely strong omega he behaves that respectfully. Nothing like the unruly alphas everyone was used to. Eiji loved him for it, even if other people thought it was odd. It made him even easier to talk to and respect.

Eiji's mother soon finished setting the table up and sat down in place. As was the normal for his family, Eiji and his father hadn't touched their food yet. They all considered it impolite to begin eating before everyone was seated. She gave a serene smile and soon nodded.

"Thank you for the meal," he and his father said in unison before the three of them tucked in. As usual the meal was amazing, his mother made an incredible traditional Japanese meal. She had cooked with her own mother all the time in Japan as a little girl, after all, so it was only natural that she was well practiced.

"So, how's school, son? You've been pretty quiet about it recently," his father suddenly stated, looking at him with a slightly raised eyebrow. To his credit, Eiji didn't react or give anything away. He had been expecting this line of questioning, his parents were smart people.

What could he say? He couldn't keep lying to them and say everything was fine. No one talked to him, no one respected him, and twice he had been driven out of the classroom in tears by people's mocking voices. If he were to be completely honest, he had no idea why the school and his teachers hadn't called his parents to explain his situation.

For now he had to play it off, he wanted to see Sing and Shorter and have fun. There wasn't really a way to put it off any longer. Today would be the day he told them, he decided. Just... After the festival. He took a deep breath before giving his parents a reassuring smile. 

"Things aren't the best sometimes right now," he started and shook his head at his mother's concerned expression. "Don't worry though! They aren't that bad, I'm still happy, and I've made some friends. Actually, I'm going to meet them today." Hopefully that would be reassuring to them and would keep them calm until later. "I'll talk to you more about this later when I get home."

His parents shared a skeptical glance for a moment and Eiji knew for certain that they were on to him. They knew that something was wrong, and to be this concerned they must have been suspecting it for a few days. Yes, the young omega would have to tell them as soon as he got home.

"Mom, Dad, I promise. A-as soon as I get home we'll talk, so don't worry! Just enjoy your day," he insisted with a gentle smile, thinking of happy things to make his scent sweeter so that his parents knew everything was going to be okay. He couldn't tell them right now, it would ruin what might be his last good day for a while, but he couldn't leave them worrying either.

It seemed to work. His father became less tense and the muscles in his face relaxed as his mother began to smile again too. Thank goodness... They were all going to need this last relaxing day before this baby finally completely dominated their lives.

"Okay, but we're having a family talk about this as soon as I get home from work, Eiji. We know something hasn't been right the past few days."

"Yes, Dad," he responded obediently with a slight bow of his head; a show of submission to the command of the alpha of the house. That was that then, he was committed. 

"Good boy. I've got such a good, honest son," he stated with an approving smile before standing. "Well, I'm going to work. Have a nice day with your friends, Eiji."

Like a good son, the omega hid his anxiety and waved his father off to work with a smile. This was going to be so difficult... It would change everything...

From now on he would no longer be their well-behaved child. He would be the careless slut who got pregnant and destroyed his family's reputation.

\----

Ten o'clock on the dot he arrived at the meeting spot. The nerves had begun rising and were making him feel nauseous... After this festival that was it. His parents were going to know and everything was going to go sideways. Would they be disappointed? Angry? Disgusted? Most likely. For saying he was going to try and forget about the pregnancy today, it seemed to suddenly be the forefront of his life again. It was influencing his mood, making him feel terrible, and causing him terrible stress.

As ridiculous as it was, he felt like all the strangers on the street around him knew. It felt like they could see the life taking shape inside him and they were judging him for how badly he messed up to end up with it there. Obviously the thoughts were impossible and illogical, but he couldn't seem to stop the never-ending waves of paranoia drowning him like the most violent of oceans.

Maybe he should just go home and face the music? He was already spoiling his own day by letting his worry overtake him, he didn't want to destroy the mood for Sing and Shorter too. Of course, that would be the right thing to do. He needed to just go home before his beta friends got here.

Too late. As he turned to go home he saw the couple approaching him. Shorter was waving extremely enthusiastically while Sing kept seemingly apologising to the poor strangers who nearly got hit in the face by his taller boyfriend's excitable energy. With a deep sigh he resigned himself to his fate of making everyone sad or stressed today.

Once the two males reached him Shorter actually pulled him into a friendly hug before both betas suddenly frowned. Sing wrinkled his nose and stared at Eiji in slight concern.

"Eiji... Don't take this the wrong way, but-," the smaller beta started, talking gently as if to make sure he didn't hurt the omegas feelings. Unfortunately, as always, Shorter was not letting anyone stop him from having his say. He interrupted his boyfriend and stared at Eiji.

"Your scent absolutely fucking reeks of stress," the purple-haired beta said with the usual Shorter-esque bluntness. Sing apparently reached a limit with Shorter's behaviour because he hit him in the arm and gave him a short but furious lecture about sensitivity and kindness. At least Shorter had the decency to look ashamed. 

That didn't make Eiji feel better though. His scent of revealing his emotions so openly, Shorter and Sing were bothered enough to bring it up, and the taller beta had brought it up so openly and loudly. It made him want to cringe away from people, to hide away and never come out. He should have stayed home.

Just as soon as it came his panic receded and he suddenly smelled a wonderful scent in the air, calming him thoroughly. He could swear the smell was familiar but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Had he smelled it before in passing? This beautiful scent of delicate jasmine and green tea...

Shorter was staring in sudden shock behind Eiji yet Sing seemed entirely calm and unsurprised. He couldn't quite care, not when whatever was letting off the scent made him so calm. Closing his eyes to relax further, he continued to breathe in the soft and lovely scent.

"What are you doing here," the taller of his beta friends demanded in a weirdly hostile tone. How could anyone that smelled so good be so hated? Curiosity got the better of him and he opened his eyes, taking note of Shorter's almost feral face and Sing's worry before turning around.

There stood Yut-Lung Lee with a hardened expression, eyes narrowed at Shorter.

Had Yut-Lung calmed him? The scent of jasmine and green tea was undeniably coming from him. Why would he do that? After that little display with Arthur he was convinced that the other omega absolutely despised him for whatever reason. Now he was helping him...?

He looked almost like a woman, hair plaited in a complex way and draped over his shoulder, a little lipgloss and eyeliner, and small glittering jewels decorating the length of his hair. He was also wearing what Eiji believed to be a three-piece woman's business suit. Beautiful no doubt, but in the same way a tiger was beautiful; sleek and precise and deadly, ready to strike out like an asp the second someone became enamoured and let their guard down.

"Sing, control your feral pet." This was the first time Eiji had heard the other omega's voice, and the difference between his elegant feminine appearance and his cold-as-steel deep voice was almost disorientating. The words he used... He didn't even deign to address Shorter directly, he spoke to Sing and acted as though the taller beta was something less than human that wasn't worth his direct attention. That level of arrogance and cruelty from an omega was terrifying. He was more brutal than some alphas.

Shorter noticeably reddened in anger but Sing gave him a look that suggested he better keep it the hell together. He turned his head to Yut-Lung and gave him a similar look telling him to behave.

"Both of you, stop it. Now, Yut-Lung, I'm not being rude, I'm just genuinely curious... What are you doing here scenting Eiji, exactly?"

"I was just passing by doing some shopping, and I smelled something disgusting. It was irritating my nose, so I fixed it." His bluntness was a different kind to Shorter's. Shorter's was a bluntness of honesty. Yut-Lung's was one of authority, leaving no room for debate or questioning. It was a weapon meant to belittle and hurt feelings. Knowing Arthur's desire for someone obedient, he couldn't believe he had matched with this biting omega. "Now, I have better things to do than mingle with the riffraff. I'm leaving."

Watching as he walked away, Shorter bristled.

"How do you like him, Sing?! Even when he does something that seems nice it's for some selfish reason," he cried out in protest. Sing gave him a hard stare and simply shook his head.

"He's not as bad as you think. Look, let's just be grateful Eiji's calm and enjoy the day, okay?" It sounded almost as if he was pleading, and it seemed to work. A deep sigh passed through Shorter's lips before he leaned down and kissed Sing's cheek in a rare show of affection.

Sing's blush was actually pretty cute. His eyes crinkled and his cheeks and nose turned a bright shade of pink. Their reactions to each other and their ability to be completely open about who they are around each other... Just then Eiji realised how much these two boys loved each other, and he envied them slightly. He was happy for them, but it was something he wished he could have in his life too.

"No point just standing here, let's go to the square," Shorter encouraged before ruffling the omega's hair with a grin. "On the way there you can tell us what you're worried about, Eiji. We care, you know!"

Yes, they did care, and he realised he was very lucky that they did. Maybe he could still enjoy today after all.

\----

Two hours later and the festival was in full swing. Three alphas, one omega and one beta had performed so far. They were good, they were very good. All the music here was original, written by those performing it. Upbeat and energetic in the omega's case, confidence in the voices of two of the alphas, and sad songs of hardship from the other alpha and the beta.

Everyone going up onto the temporary stage in the centre of the square was from a unique walk of life. It was impossible not to enjoy it. The music was wonderful and the experience of witnessing all these different people in their element was enriching. 

Right now there was a break between performances for people to get some lunch or chat with their friends. Performances were going to resume in half an hour. In the end he found himself enjoying the whole thing. His parents were still at the forefront of his mind, but he was distracted enough by the confusion with Yut-Lung and the marvellous festival to not worry too much.

Sing soon came back with three hotdogs. They decided that they should have something small to eat and then eat properly later at dinner. After a quick search on the internet about pregnancy, the smaller beta had triumphantly announced that a plain hotdog would be safe for Eiji to eat. He and Shorter each took a hotdog from Sing and started to eat, all attention now turning to the omega.

They had promised to listen without judgement to his troubles in the festival break. On the walk there he had been unable to find it in himself to ruin the romantic mood between the two betas. Now though, they had insisted on focusing on Eiji. They had said they wanted to support their friend, and he was touched that they really did care so much.

"So, what's up? Before that guy butted in you were building up a pretty impressive panic attack," Shorter pointed out through a mouthful of food, making his partner wrinkle his nose in disgust.

"Two things, Shorter: stop being a dick about Yut-Lung and stop talking with your mouth full."

The taller beta gave a half-hearted grunt of agreement and the omega couldn't help but laugh a little. Despite all his worries it was difficult to be so upset around a person like Shorter. Sing rolled his eyes in an exaggerated way before giving Eiji a rare grin.

"Well, seriously. Are you okay, Eiji?"

The best thing would probably be just to come straight out with it. Taking a deep breath for courage, he let the words pour out.

"T-this past week has just been so hard, I didn't think I w-would survive it... I couldn't bring myself to change my parents' opinion of me o-on top of that, but they've started to realise something is wrong, so when I g-go home today..." He let his words trail off as his mood deflated and tears formed in his eyes.

Surprisingly, Sing was the one who pulled him into an instant hug. Instantly he brushed away his tears and hugged back. He wanted to be strong for his friends, he didn't want to cry and panic about everything. He wanted to get a grip on his emotions and survive this.

The two of them pulled away from the hug and Sing seemed to nod in understanding as Shorter sighed deeply. 

"Your parents don't know you're pregnant and you need to tell them when you get home."

Eiji nodded simply in defeat and ran a hand through his hair before suddenly smelling a very familiar shocked scent. What? Had someone Eiji knew been listening to their conversation? The betas seemed equally as surprised at the lemon and sandalwood that was drifting around them, and the three of them all turned around at once.

Ash stood there with an unbelievably shocked expression on his face. Had he just listened to everything that was said? Shorter stepped forward and soon pull the alpha into a hug, apologising under his breath for the things that were said yesterday. Ash hugged back in silence before Sing spoke.

"Seriously, Ash... It wasn't Shorter's place to say it, but it's true. Your dad would never let you come to a festival like this," Sing pointed out with an exasperated expression. "So what are you doing here? You're gonna get yourself into trouble."

The alpha pulled away from Shorter's embrace and took the last few steps to close the distance between them. He looked exhausted, his eyes were slightly reddened as if he hadn't slept at all last night and there was a red mark on his cheek that looked suspiciously like a handprint. He had never seen any alpha in such a bad state before, they were usually so brimming with confidence and energy.

It made him worried. Ash already wasn't like most alphas, others within his rank didn't respect him and he didn't seem to have the same freedom or choice that other alphas did. His life concerning his rank seemed like a complex enigma wrapped within a deep mystery, he couldn't grasp an understanding of it at all. He couldn't figure out whether or not Ash was actually okay.

"It's fine, Sing, I just came to make a point to Shorter," he stated nonchalantly as if it really didn't matter that he was in such a bad state. "But enough about that. Did Eiji just say he hasn't told his parents that he's pregnant?"

"I haven't yet, but I'm telling them today," Eiji finally said gingerly, still looking incredibly nervous about the whole thing. He would have to find a way to be tough though, while Ash was in that state he didn't want to worry him... Was it too arrogant to consider that Ash would worry about him?

Due to both of them being very quiet people he hadn't gotten as close to Ash as he had to Sing and Shorter. Maybe the blonde didn't actually care about him that much at all. He had helped him, yes, but maybe that was a kindness rather than an act of friendship. Who knew?

"You should have-... No, never mind," he said before shaking his head. "If it was easy as 'you should have told them' then you would have already done it." Eiji actually felt a little put out. Was Ash seriously about to tell him he should have just told them? That was kind of a horrible move, but at the same time he did seem to instantly acknowledge his mistake...

Just this once he could overlook it. Ash corrected himself and didn't do any harm, and he was already in a bad state...

"I need to tell them when I go home today..."

Ash gave Eiji an assessing look before giving him another one of those easy smiles, patting his shoulder gently. 

"We'll help."

No way. They actually wanted to go as far as helping him tell his parents? But they had only known Eiji for a week and they knew nothing at all about his parents! Yet they wanted to help him confess his pregnancy to his parents. He wasn't going to be doing this alone and he wasn't going to do it without support.

He felt so happy he thought he was going to cry and he pulled all three of his new friends into a hug, deliberately letting out more of his relieved scent so that they knew how much this meant to him. Three pairs of arms hugged him back and he laughed happily, cuddling closer to them.

Shorter mumbled something teasing about an 'affectionate little omega' and Sing pulled away to jokingly elbow his boyfriend in the stomach. Everything felt so bright and hopeful suddenly. 

"I don't know what your parents are like, Eiji. I'm sure it'll be fine, but if stuff does go wrong then I'll convince my big sister to let you come live with us," his purple-haired friend offered with an uncharacteristically gentle smile. He felt like he was going to be well looked-after. Right now, at least, he felt like this was going to turn out okay.

He nodded and hugged Ash and Shorter tighter before pulling away, enjoying the happier air. Thank goodness they had cleared this up before the festival started again. For now he still wanted to enjoy it.

Everyone looked relieved when the announcements started up again and introduced the next act. It seemed that it wasn't just Eiji, everyone wanted to have a good time before they all tackled this serious task together. 

As the next performance started up the four of them leaned in close and swayed in time to the love song being sung from the stage, feeling connected.

\----

A few hours later in the evening they were outside Eiji's home, and he was sweating because of the nerves. Weirdly, Ash had been doting on him for the past few hours, trying to stop him from feeling anxious or sad or guilty. It felt almost as if this had a personal quality to it for the alpha. Later he would definitely have to ask Ash about all the things that didn't make sense before any confusion caused a rift in their new and fragile friendship.

It was time and he knew it was best to get on with this. Despite the omega's trembling body he managed to nod in confirmation and took a step towards the door. Dutifully, his friends followed and stepped inside once Eiji opened the door.

Movement sounded from the living room in response to the sound of the door. Before long Eiji's mother appeared from the doorway and beamed at her son. That smile soon turned to a frown as she noticed the extra guests and the distressed state of her son.

"Eiji... What's going on?"

It was time.


	6. I Have Control Of My Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you are! Only two days after the last chapter, you lucky bastards! ❤️  
> In all seriousness, last chapter was so difficult to write but this one just kind of flowed out of me. Enjoy a slightly shorter and milder chapter that hopefully will raise a few smiles!
> 
> \- Vasser

"Eiji?" His mother's voice had a note of urgency to it. Her panic really didn't help, it made everything so much worse. He was making his mother worried, he should just blurt it out and stop dragging this on longer than it should be. But it was so hard. As much as he wanted to put an end to his mother's worry, it wasn't at all an easy thing to say.

The problem was that this scanario had too many outcomes, many of which could hurt himself and his parents. Some even involved his friends getting hurt. He didn't want any of that. Would his mother be disappointed in him? Would she be scared or more worried? Would his father be angry? Could he even stay here if their reactions were bad?

His mind started to cloud with stress and he believed he might be hyperventilating again but he wasn't really sure. Reality seemed so far away suddenly, he felt detached... He was so sleepy. Wait, where was he again? Someone swore loudly somewhere and then his own little world was suddenly assaulted with scents. His father's scent of exotic fruit mixed with Ash's lemon and sandalwood... Alpha scents.

They were nice. More. More scent. He needed to chase the nice smells. On instinct he tried to regain control of himself so that he could find the source of the scents and get more. At one point he thought he might have actually purred.

Then he was opening bleary eyes, and the detached feeling was gone as quickly as it arrived. Somehow he had ended up on the floor, and Ash and his father were both leaning over him while his mother watched wide-eyed with a pale face. The two alphas were staring at each other intensely and a frigid air surrounded them. What had gone on to make Ash and his father hate each other already...?

That foul mood dissipated when the alphas noticed Eiji open his eyes, and he swore he heard everyone release a collective sigh of relief. It had only been a panic attack. An extreme one, yes, but it was still just a panic attack. Why was everyone so worried.

"Eiji... Do you remember anything," Shorter's voice asked almost breathlessly, breaking the uncomfortable silence between those present. For some reason his throat felt dry and scratchy so he didn't bother speaking. He remember scents and... Well, that was it really. He didn't actually remember anything. Nervously, he shook his head, starting to believe there was more to this.

Everyone in the room shared a concerned look before he heard his mother whisper awkwardly about going to get some water for her son. Ash soon helped Eiji off the ground and put him on the sofa with Shorter's help, much to his father's annoyance by the looks of things.

His father soon took control, steering his son's friends into the corner of the room and seemingly having a stern and heated discussion that the omega couldn't hear. All of them looked a little tense but it seemed like everything would be okay...until Ash's head suddenly snapped up in rage.

Eiji's father instantly looked up at the visiting alpha and snarled, and the poor omega instantly knew that everything was going to go to shit without even bringing up the pregnancy. He watched with slightly tearful eyes as Shorter hit Ash's arm with what was likely quite a lot of force before hissing something to him. Probably a warning to calm down. It scared him even more. Shorter was blunt and honest and sometimes get annoyed, but he hadn't seen him this angry before.

Apparently, the beta's actions were a waste of effort. His alpha friend brushed him off and stared at Eiji's father in challenge. 

"No." 

The word was short and full of unmasked venom. What had been said to draw that rage out of Ash's soul? From what he had seen, the blonde usually treated others with such respect and kindness. This couldn't be good...

"Yes. Stay away from my son," his father ordered with no room for argument. "My son is pregnant, and you all came in here with him disrespecting our family privacy! You nearly sent him into drop-!"

So his father knew he was pregnant already...? Someone must have said it in the panic of Eiji's collapse. He didn't seem angry about that at keast, he seemed more protective... Relief flooded through him before he blinked in confusion. Wait. Drop... Panic spiked within him again as the word 'drop' settled into his mind.

Drop? Drop?! No! That couldn't be what happened! It was just a panic attack, he only blacked out for a couple of seconds...! Then again, it would explain the almost primal mindset he vaguely remembered slipping into, and it would also explain why he didn't really remember anything...

But if a pregnant omega went into drop they were almost certain to miscarry. Was his baby in danger?! He needed to go to a doctor, he need to-!

His mother soon appeared beside him and petted his hair gently, shaking her head. He forced himself to calm at least slightly and looked at her, his lip trembling as he wanted to give in and cry.

"It's okay, Eiji... Hear what they said?" she asked in a soothing tone of voice. "'Nearly'. You didn't actually go into drop, love, it's okay... There won't be any complications," she continued to comfort as Eiji listened to the rest of their conversation, trying to dry his tears away.

"And on top of all that, you dared to scent him in his own home! I am his father and alpha guardian, I should have lulled him out! You are a stranger!"

Ash looked like he was going to explode. Red-faced, he squared up to Eiji's father and narrowed his eyes. Shorter tried desperately to pull him back as Sing tried to play negotiator. It was a complete mess.

"Ash, just get the fuck away-"

"Don't swear in someone else's home Shorter!"

"My son doesn't need the likes of you complicating his life and violating him-"

"Shut up, you old fart, I'm just trying to help-"

Screaming over each other, making so much noise that Eiji's head was nearly spinning. Despite being a beta, his mother was more scared than he was and was slowly cringing away. How could they not see that they were scaring her and upsetting him?!

"Sir, you seem too protective-"

"Ash and us just wanna help-"

"Get out of my house-!"

...

"ENOUGH!!"

Something deep within Eiji snapped. They were all yelling and shouting and causing his mother distress by trying to make decisions about his life that he wasn't getting a say in. This was beyond ridiculous... As parents went his were amazing. Considering he was an omega they allowed him so much freedom and choice. But now that one little thing happened his father had flipped the switch completely.

Silence enveloped the room, swift and abrupt, as everyone turned to look at the omega in shock. Then he realised that the room smelled overpoweringly of him. There was so much relaxing omega scent that it would practically act as a sedative, especially to the alphas. He never knew he could do that if he was pushed. Well, it shut them all up enough to listen to him.

For the first time in his life Eiji was completely dominating a room. He faltered for a moment, unsure what he was supposed to do or how he was supposed to make them listen. Then he realised they were already listening and that made him more nervous. He just had to do what he could to make them understand. 

Channeling his inner steel, he stood up on still slightly shaking legs and gave them all a level stare. Hopefully he didn't look too anxious, he wanted to convey to them how serious he was. First he turned to Sing.

"Sing, you need to stop fussing over everyone. You mean well, but it riles everyone up more and makes them feel like they need to argue their point more strongly," he pointed out with a stern expression before turning to his boyfriend.

"Shorter, you need to stop being so physical and aggravating Ash even further, and you need to stop butting into fights before you get yourself hurt."

He turned to Ash, eyes surprisingly harsh and lecturing.

"Ash. This is my home, and that is my father. You are my friend, but you are currently also a guest in our home. Stop being so territorial and show some respect," he snapped at him while staring into his eyes. Tension thrummed between them and the unexpected happened. The alpha bowed his head in a show of apology and obedience to the omega. He shouldn't, but Eiji felt proud and slightly powerful because of it.

He let himself smile in faint satisfaction before putting his stern mask and turning back to his father.

"Father. You are the oldest here, you are an alpha, and I thought you were the kindest man I knew. I love you dearly, but before you drive my friends away you should listen to what I have to say. They have done nothing but help me, so please be nice to them and accept them. If it weren't for Ash then I would be a depressed and rejected omega who would stay in his room crying all day."

The older alpha seemed to be surprised at his son's bold words to say the least. He gave him an assessing stare and Eiji didn't shy away, just stared right back. The elder Okumura turned away first and gazed at his son's friend curiously.

"Most importantly, all four of you need to stop talking about my life and trying to make decisions without consulting me. It's my life, and I think that means the most important thing is making sure I feel happy rather than you all getting what you want."

The four of them remained silent and gave each other shocked and faintly ashamed looks before Shorter finally broke the tense air with a grin. 

"We're proud of you, Eiji."

He was proud of himself too.

\----

After just a little begging and pleading, Eiji's mother had allowed him to invite the others over for dinner. It seemed that Sing and Shorter already had dinner plans somewhere else, but Ash was willing to stay. In fact, he went as far as to say he would rather be here than go home. Thinking back on what Shorter said about the alpha's father, he just hoped that the blonde was joking.

Obviously, Ash was an alpha and so his father refused to let the two friends be alone until he knew he could completely trust Ash's intentions. They had formed a truce after seeing how much it meant to Eiji that they didn't fight, but naturally they were still trying to weigh each other up now that they had already fought.

The omega was still buzzing with energy from his earlier outburst, but it also made him flustered to think about it. Genuinely, he never knew he was capable of that stunt he pulled with his scent. If pushed, he could literally sedate people... It was almost scary to think about, he always assumed he was defenceless. 

"So... Eiji. You knew this question was coming, but how did you end up pregnant?" Of course his father was going to ask eventually. Arthur... His parents knew he had been dating an alpha, though they had never met him. They kept pushing to meet him but then everything had happened.

"Well... The alpha I was with... He t-talked me into consenting to...um...you know," he said with a blush. Maybe it was childish to think this way, but the thought of saying the word 'sex' in front of his parents was so unbelievably awkward. "A-and... He was very...um...c-controlling. I f-felt like I couldn't even ask t-to use protection and he g-got hold of me d-during my heat."

When he explained it like that it sounded pathetic, like he had been fooling around and just hadn't bothered being careful. That wasn't quite right. To an extent he had to acknowledge that Arthur had pressured him and intimidated him into sex, although he wouldn't go as far as to say sexual assault even if Shorter insisted it was. Either way, it wasn't that he was careless; it was just that Arthur was always so gruff that he didn't dare ask him to stop to prepare protection. 

His father considered the story for a moment before raising an eyebrow, looking wholly unconvinced. Surprisingly, he turned next to Ash and gave him a wary but respectful stare.

"What would you say, young man?"

The younger alpha seemed taken aback by being addressed. He looked at Eiji and gently brushed his blonde hair away from his eyes.

"I say that Eiji definitely gave consent, but that doesn't mean he wanted it. He felt like he had to and he felt directly threatened by Arthur's entitled attitude," he said bluntly before turning back to Eiji's father and clearing his throat, adding 'sir' to the end of his speech as an afterthought.

So that was how Ash had viewed this? He understood the situation strangely well, like he had tried to put himself in the omega's shoes. He really was an odd one; he avoided other alphas, barely had any friends, and empathised with omega's on their issues. Even though they were still near-perfect strangers he had put so much energy and effort into trying to pull Eiji out of drop, too... Incredible, truly.

The eldest Okumura stood up slowly and made his way over, pulling his son into an almost bone-crushing hug. No words were spoken, but he could feel the love and support just through his actions. Yes, his father and mother indeed respected what had happened and his decision to keep the baby.

His mother could come to his appointments with him and give him advice of childbirth while his father taught him the important aspects of budgeting to make sure all members of a household had everything they needed. It would be perfect. His mother and father and his child. A family together.

"You were right, this alpha is a good one. Make sure to rely on him, Eiji, and remember to never stop feeling the strength you showed earlier," his father encouraged before going to help with dinner, leaving the two teenagers alone in the living room at last.

There were many things he wanted to know. Ash was so bizarre, there was a wealth of answers to be found. However, the silence between them right now was a comfortable one and Eiji didn't want to jeopardise that too much. Just some small questions would do for now.

If there was something he would really want to know what would it be? Something personal, if he had any common sense. Asking something like Ash's favourite colour or first pet's name would be stupid. This question would have to be unique and intriguing, something that would open the alpha up to a conversation on that topic.

"... Ash. When I nearly... Earlier, why did you s-scent me?" That was as good a question as any. After all, his father had been right earlier. It was his job to scent his son and keep him safe if he didn't have an alpha of his own. The blonde didn't have to help at all, and yet he did. 

Those jade green eyes turned to the Japanese omega, and he could have sworn he saw a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth too.

"I couldn't let you suffer. I acted impulsively, I wanted to save you," he said simply, sounding almost like the confession of a big secret. Interpreting his words wasn't difficult. Ash had no real clue why he specifically did it, there was just something in his life that made him care enough to.

Having a friend like Ash was nice. He hadn't gotten as close to him as he did to Shorter and Sing, but he would have to change that. He was caring and protective and he would fight for Eiji in the same way that Shorter was willing to. This alpha cared just as much as the others, if not more.

"Ash... Your injuries today," he started almost nervously. "I don't expect you to explain, I just want you to promise that you won't get yourself hurt. I care."

There was another soft silence between them before he saw that easy grin that Ash had been wearing when he introduced himself. Nothing more needed to be said. They were close, they were friends, and they both cared enough to know it without having to verbally express it.

As his mother called the two of them to dinner he vowed to himself that next time he would go somewhere alone with Ash and get to know him just as well as he had gotten to know the betas. There was something about Ash that made a close bond with him desirable, and Eiji wasn't going to bother resisting that call.


	7. Keeper Of Secrets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!  
> This took longer than anticipated again, the middle of the week I was disassociating and I couldn't even tell whether I was awake or not... Yeah, it was a mess, I was in no state to be writing. I'm okay now though, and I'm delivering a new chapter to all of you~!  
> Enjoy!
> 
> Edit: And I forgot, thank you so much for 119 kudos, I never expected to get even close to that ever! It really boosts my confidence in my writing, thank you x
> 
> \- Vasser

Only two weeks after finding out he was pregnant Eiji had already conquered some important milestones. He had told his teachers and was awaiting a plan of action from Miss Randy, he had made three amazing friends, he had told his parents about his issues. He was getting there. 

Being the logical people they were, his parents had decided he should get confirmation from the doctor that he really was pregnant. The appointment was after school today and, even though he knew it was just a paranoid thought, he couldn't help but worry about how humiliated he would feel if it turned out that he wasn't pregnant. After all three pregnancy tests he took came out positive the chances of the were practically zero, but he worried about it nonetheless. 

For now he should forget it and get through the school day. Eiji shook the thoughts from his head and continued to wait patiently for Doctor Varishikov to arrive. Honestly, classic literature was a fun subject but Doctor Varishikov made him feel intimidated. He had never done anything to cause Eiji to feel this way; it was just that he was the only alpha teacher in the whole school and he was built like a mountain. Even most alpha students didn't dare mess around with him in the room.

Students had never called him 'Doctor Varishikov' though. He didn't know where the name came from, but they all called him 'Blanca' because barely anyone could actually pronounce 'Varishikov'. At least this proved that Blanca was actually a relatively relaxed teacher, he didn't mind his students nicknaming him. The omega would just have to try and make himself relax.

He was here early for class, he had his homework, and he had done the required reading of the novel they were studying. There was nothing to get him into trouble, everything was going to be fine...

Then Arthur walked in. 

In all the relief from the weekend and the worrying about his appointment he had somehow forgotten that he shared this class with his ex. Maybe Arthur wouldn't bother him? No, it was naïve to think that way. The alpha was most definitely going to pick a fight, Eiji was just going to have to stay calm. Not that it was going to be easy, just having Arthur in the same room was putting him in edge.

As he walked past the omega Arthur deliberately sent out waves of his scent, disgust and rage settling onto his face. Of course... He would never leave Eiji alone, not after he had dared to stand up to him in the lunch hall last week. The scent was getting thicker the more the alpha released of it and he felt so intimidated, he could choke on this horrible smell...

His inner omega was screaming at him to just submit in response to the angry scent that surrounded them. He had to ignore that voice, he couldn't let Arthur do whatever he wanted. With a neutral expression he forced himself to look up at his ex, trying to make it seem like this was nothing but a mild inconvenience to him. As their eyes met the room became tense and people started to murmur.

Suddenly, the door opened and the tension instantly evaporated. Eiji and Arthur turned to look as Blanca walked into the room. He looked cheerful enough until he saw what was going on. To the teacher's credit, he managed to rein in the annoyed scent that very briefly drifted around.

"Frederick, take your seat. Now," he said with a perfectly calm but disappointed sounding voice. Everyone in the classroom went deathly silent and stared straight towards the enraged Arthur. Both alphas stared at each in challenge but Arthur soon looked away, knowing that Blanca's additional experience and strength weren't worth facing.

That was over faster than expected, and Eiji was surprised that his teacher had been on his side. As a teacher, though, he supposed that Blanca was obligated to look out for the well-being of all his students.

"Now, today we'll be discussing chapter 10 of the novel we've been studying. The exploitation of omegas is an important theme in this chapter and we will discuss how it links in to the lack of rights in the past," he stated before looking directly at Arthur. "Of course, things aren't the same now as they were in the past. Now, omegas have their own rights and choices and deserve the same respect as any alpha."

His words were like a verbal slap in the face to Arthur, and Eiji had never seen his ex look so humiliated. Obviously, his pride was damaged at being so blatantly called out for his behaviour. Even if it was wrong to enjoy the sight, he couldn't help but smile a little. 

\----

Class passed by uneventfully after that. No Arthur outbursts, no whispering, no snide comments. Eiji actually managed to draft a pretty decent essay within the hour of class for Blanca to check over. The bell rang loud and clear to signal the end of third period and the start of lunch, and he started to gather his things before feeling a presence beside him. 

Blanca was looming over him, expression unreadable as he blocked Eiji's way. What was going on? He felt a little scared of the possibility of something bad happening, but the tall alpha was a teacher and so he couldn't do anything about it.

"Eiji, could you please follow me to my office?"

Well, his relaxed mood had been pathetically short-lived. Slumping his shoulders in defeat, the young omega simply picked up his bag and started to trail after the alpha. Maybe without the students there it wouldn't have been as bad as it was...

However, the students were there and the first thing they started doing was speculating. He passed a group of beta girls who were gossiping already about how Eiji was secretly a problem child and needed to be monitored. A different group of beta boys were murmuring about Blanca was going to lecture him about disrespecting Arthur. The worst one was Arthur himself said.

His ex-boyfriend was stood alone at the front of the class, smirking like the cat who got the cream. Leaning not-so-casually to the alpha closest to him, he stage-whispered the horrible phrase and made sure to be loud enough for the whole class to hear.

"I heard he was fucking Blanca to secure his 'good' grades. Wouldn't surprise me, the little whore," the bastard stated with an abysmal attempt at a fake uncaring shrug. He looked too self-satisfied for anyone to believe that was anything other than a purposeful targeted attack. It worked.

Tears, hot and fat, rolled down Eiji's cheeks as he stepped out of the classroom and into the teacher's office. He didn't care what Blanca thought of him anymore. Once they were alone in the office he allowed himself to start sobbing in devastation. 

Just days ago he had been so proud of himself for simply telling Arthur to go away, and had naïvely believed that everything would be okay after that point. Foolish, childish thinking. Anyone would know that Arthur wouldn't lie down and take it, anyone would figure out that he would find a way to utterly destroy Eiji for the audacity.

What could he do? He really was just a defenceless omega in the end; no reputation, no respect, no understanding. Before had been bad, but now it was clear that his ex was out to destroy him completely. How could he keep going to his classes knowing that this was all that was waiting for him?

Blanca seemed to hesitate for a moment before sighing in resignation and locking the door. That made Eiji panic more. Teachers weren't supposed to shut themselves away with students, especially not an omega, and they were never under any circumstances supposed to lock the doors. This wasn't good at all, it didn't bode well. Sickness built up in his stomach due to anxiety as he imagined all the horrible paths this could go down; assault, rape, screaming, being hit. Was Blanca going to punish him for being a horrible omega?

Doctor Varishikov stepped away from the door and approached Eiji. He flinched, expecting the worst, but the teacher walked straight past him and sat in his chair, letting out a deep sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"... I'm so sorry, Eiji. I had no idea things were this bad."

"... S-sir?"

He was still sobbing uncontrollably in anguish but he was also confused. Blanca was sorry? It was Eiji's own fault for daring to aggravate Arthur...

"Can I be candid with you, Eiji? And can I request that you be candid with me in return?" The question was an odd one but Eiji nodded anyway. Trying to dry his tears with his sleeve awkwardly, he finally took the seat on the other side of Blanca's desk. 

There was a silent pause, filled with expectation. The teacher studied his student for a moment and the omega wanted to shrink under the gaze. Things didn't seem as grim with Blanca as he worried, but that didn't mean things weren't going to be bad.

"Think of me right now not as a teacher, but as an alpha and a therapist," he started with a reassuring smile. There didn't seem to be any sinister intentions behind that phrase or expression, but thinking of him as an alpha still made Eiji shudder. Obviously, the action was noticed because Blanca chuckled. "Okay, not an alpha. Just your therapist."

That was better, yes. He could deal with that. Okay. Nodding in acceptance, Eiji made himself look up at the teacher and was surprised at the warmth he found in his face. His instant thought was that Blanca seemed very fatherly all of a sudden, very protective and concerned. 

"Alright. So this thing with Frederick... We all know about you standing up for yourself in the cafeteria, it's hard not to know when the students gossip about it all the time," he admitted as the omega student flushed pink. 

He shouldn't be surprised that people were talking about it, but they were. Despite himself, Eiji briefly wondered whether Ash had heard about the incident; whether the blonde would be proud of him for what he did.

He wasn't completely sure why he cared about what Ash thought, but he did care. He wanted all of his new friends to be proud of him, but Ash seemed to matter just slightly more... Maybe it was just because he was an alpha. After all, society had always taught everyone that alphas were strong and respectable and that their opinion mattered more than omegas and betas.

Ash was likely proud of him either way, anyway, so Eiji should stop thinking about it and focus on the present.

"Thing is, Eiji... As your teacher, I really shouldn't say this, but you need to stand up to him more," Blanca said with conviction, as if that were definitely the real right thing. "Frederick thrives off your misery, and that's wrong. He should respect you just as much as he expects you to respect him. Intimidating anyone is wrong."

"A-are you...really sure it's okay to say this, sir?" Eiji wasn't sure he was. Obviously, the support was greatly appreciated, but weren't teachers supposed to stay impartial while trying to solve problems?

The older man shrugged and leaned back in his chair like he didn't have a care in the world. Instantly he regretted his thoughts of being scared of Blanca, regretted assuming the worst. Doctor Varishikov was chill.

"Yes, it's fine, Eiji. Please, come to me if you have any problems and stand up for yourself more," he insisted with a smile before sitting up straight again. "Do you have anyone you can rely on?"

"Yes. Ash Lynx."

He knew Ash the least, and yet it seemed like he was the most obvious person to bring up. He trusted him and knew that the blonde alpha would always have his back. They would be good friends for definite.

Blanca, however, looked shocked and mildly concerned. Weird... Why would bringing up Ash make him worried? Ash was nothing but nice.

"If you think that's best for you, Eiji, but just be careful. Ash's life is very complicated, just don't get too involved, okay?"

What secrets was Ash harbouring? Everything had been going well until now, but now there was so much that didn't fit. Blanca warning Eiji away from the young alpha made no sense. Surely there was no reason... Ash was a regular student, maybe a bit of a rebel, but other than that he couldn't be dangerous.

"Okay, but Ash will look after me."

"If you say so, Eiji. Keep your chin up, okay? Now, go grab some lunch," he said with a friendly smile. "Oh, sorry about locking the door by the way, I just didn't want someone bursting in and disrupting this important conversation. I hate being interrupted."

\----

Eiji entered the lunch hall in a rush and hurried quickly over to his friends at the usual table. Sing's eyes widened at the winded expression on the omega's face and Shorter simply gave him a stare.

"Where da hell haf choo bin-"

"Shorter, don't talk with your mouth full," Sing said in a tired tone, as if he were sick of having to keep saying that to his boyfriend. Luckily, he had understood what Shorter said, so he just tried to laugh it off and told Sing now to worry.

He took a seat across from Ash and gave him an awkward smile, wondering what was so bad about being around him. Noticing the look, Ash stared back in confusion and he flushed in embarrassment before looking at Shorter.

"Actually, Shorter, Doctor Varishikov told me to stay behind after class," he admitted before glancing briefly over to Arthur's table. "There was an incident and he told me I need to stand up for myself more. I told him that Ash and you and Sing would be by my side, so it's fine."

The way his alpha friend went rigid at the mention of Blanca gave away that something was definitely wrong. Eiji was not heartless so he wouldn't confront Ash about it now in front of their friends. Instead, he would speak to him once they got some time alone.

For now he gave the blonde the most reassuring smile he could manage and started to eat quickly, knowing he had limited time right now anyway. 

"I always liked Blanca, he's not stuck up. He treats everyone equally," Sing said with a look of admiration. His boyfriend muttered in faint agreement, but Ash still looked slightly off.

Right now he was enjoying his time with the three of them, but soon he had to find out exactly what Ash was hiding. Maybe it was more serious than he wanted to let himself believe...


	8. Author's Note: Hiatus

Hello everyone. I'm sorry this isn't the update you were likely hoping for but, as the title suggests, I'm putting this and all other works on hiatus for a while. Don't worry, I'll remove this note after I finally come back so that it doesn't clutter up the story.

The reason for the suddenly announced hiatus is because I found out something very unfortunate and tragic today. A friend of mine attempted suicide today and ended up dying.

Again, I'm sorry, this probably isn't want you want to hear, but I just want to scream and cry and fade away right now. I'm in no position to keep writing for you at the moment. 

Tyler was a good person, and all of his friends are going to miss him so much, but no one will miss him more than his boyfriend Jacob. He put up with a lot of shitty things and a lot of shitty people in his life and he was so strong for so long, but at such a young age he is gone now, and there is nothing we can do but grieve and mourn and regret not being enough to save him.

I promise this story isn't abandoned for good, but it's on hold while I rage at the world for letting a far more important story end too abruptly. 

I hope you find what you're looking for in Heaven, Tyler, and I hope that one day in the distant future we will all finally be with you again.


	9. The First Appointment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for being so patient after everything that's happened guys x  
> I'm finally back up and running with this.
> 
> I'm leaving the previous Author's Note up because it's a memorium to Tyler so just to clear things up this is chapter 8 x
> 
> Most of all, I want to say a huge thank you to every single person who left a kind and understanding comment because it really made me feel better. Thank you to the following:  
> DeadlyRose  
> sansan_sane  
> Hazerushi  
> Abbii  
> greencharmy  
> Loha Sancho  
> TheIrishNeko  
> Dyzarktarzk  
> Ofyawning  
> Akimashita  
> Sparkle 94 (acpendra)
> 
> Every single one of you really helped me and I really want to thank you for that.
> 
> I hope you enjoy guys, and I should hope the updates will be regular from now on x
> 
> ~ Vasser

Blanca's words and warnings were still swimming through his head hours later as his mother drove him to the doctor for his appointment. Even though Ash seemed perfectly normal it felt like no one particularly approved of him. No one seemed to be excited about Eiji's admiration for the alpha who had helped him through so much. It worried him, what was it about Ash that he couldn't see that caused people to react like this to him?

The omega was in his own little world trying to figure it out. The scenery of the city held no interest to him today. Only Ash and his mysterious effect on other people held his attention. What signs was he missing? Yes, Shorter and Sing were okay with his friendship with the alpha, but they also acted sketchy about aspects of Ash's life.

Even more troubling, why did people feel the need to warn him off? Just because he was an omega didn't mean he couldn't make judgements. Having heats didn't impair his ability to make his own decisions and measure people up. People's protectiveness over him just because he was an omega was so stupid. Then again, maybe in his case it was warranted. He had been stupid enough to believe Arthur loved him, after all. Eiji wasn't the best judge.

"Eiji? Did you hear a word of what I said?"

Oh no, had his mother been talking? His eyes widened and he turned towards her before shaking his head. Luckily, she only seemed worried, not disappointed. She must understand that he wasn't ignoring her on purpose.

"I was asking if you were comfortable going into the nurse's room by yourself," she stated softly and patiently. "It might be easier for you to explain...things without your mother hovering over your shoulder," she pointed out with a strained smile.

Strange as it was, Eiji really pitied his mother in that moment. She was probably the one suffering most from all of this. Well, and his father. His parents were there to help him through this but they were worried beyond comprehension. Shorter's implications about sexual assault hadn't helped to ease their worries at all (stupid boy...) and they obviously firmly believed that Eiji would crack under the pressure of birthing and raising a baby, even if they didn't say it outright. 

Last night he heard his father crying quietly. His father, alpha of the house and one of the toughest members of society, was so panicked by the situation that he cried himself to sleep. He had to find a way to remedy that; there had to be a way to reassure them. Maybe he should do some parenting research... Did he have time among all his schoolwork though?

"E-Eiji...?"

Oh. Right. His mother asked a question. He smiled sheepishly before sighing.

"I'll be fine, I'm sorry. There's just a lot to plan and think through," he explained simply. A small white lie to keep his mother relaxed. She would worry even more if she knew he was concerned for her and his father's emotional well-being. Later. He would figure out how to make it better later.

Mrs. Okumura nodded in understanding before finally pulling into the car park for the doctor's office. Putting a relaxing CD into the slot, his mother leaned back in her seat and tried to settle down. Eiji simply gave her a reassuring smile and leaned over to kiss her cheek before stepping out of the car.

The office was nearly deserted when he entered the waiting room. There was one other patient waiting to be seen, but that was it. Everyone else was just staff. It helped the omega to relax to realise that no one he knew was going to see him here and call him out. 

Awkwardly, he approached the reception desk and stood silently. Administrators here never seemed to like being bothered so it was better if he just waited for someone to notice him. A bored-looking student intern soon perked her head up and gave him a genuine smile. Maybe she was so bored that she had actually been hoping for work to do?

"No need to be shy, love, if you need us you should call us. That's what we're here for," she comforted, her smile never slipping. "Now, how can I help you?"

"I... I have an appointment at 4:15 with Doctor Lindley."

The administrator briefly glanced down at his stomach and gave him an even brighter smile. "Our maternity officer? Congratulations!" Eiji blushed a little at the fuss before watching her turn to the computer to the left of her. "Could I just take your surname and date of birth, love? Just gotta make sure you were the one who make the appointment, you know how it is."

Nodding in understanding, Eiji relayed the information to her. She nodded in approval before gesturing to the rest of the waiting room.

"Thank you, Mr. Okumura, please take a seat and Doctor Lindley will call you through when she's ready."

The omega smiled gratefully at her politeness and slowly walked over to a chair in the back corner of the waiting room next to a table of medical magazines. They would be decent enough for passing the time, they would stop him from thinking about the walking enigma that was Ash Lynx. 

Settling into his seat, he chose a magazine full of pregnancy facts and started to read. 'Facts' was a generous way if putting it. It was obviously written by an alpha, all it did was explain that it was safe for an omega to still 'service' and alpha while pregnant... His brow wrinkled with disgust as he threw the magazine to the side. People only cared about alphas and it was so tiring...

A loud beep sounded and dragged Eiji out of his loathing mindset. His name was displayed on the screen telling him to go through to room two. He stood faster than needed and hurried to the room. Anything to get away quickly from that horrible magazine and its vile point of view. 

Knocking politely before entering, Eiji braced himself and put on a polite smile. This doctor had done nothing wrong and was going to help him. A soft voice soon called him in and he was surprised to see a heavily pregnant omega woman sitting by the computer.

Omegas trying to enter serious industries such as medicine and education usually found it hard; not because they were unskilled but because it was unofficially frowned upon for them to have time-consuming jobs that drastically shortened the amount of time they could spend as homemakers and child-bearers. However, Doctor Lindley seemed to be in her element. 

She gave off an approachable aura, and without even speaking she had this way of making Eiji feel like he could come to her with any problem and be taken seriously. The fact that she was an omega likely influenced that feeling, there were some alpha doctors around who never treated omegas properly due to their belief that omegas were just overdramatic and fussy. They didn't care enough, and with the was Doctor Lindley was making him feel he temporarily felt sad that there weren't more omega doctors.

Silently taking a seat, he looked at her respectfully and calmly. His panic seemed to just seep out of him and fade away after seeing her. Finally, the doctor turned to him and smiled brightly.

"Hi, Eiji. My name is Doctor Lindley, but if it would make you feel better you can call me Katie," she offered with genuine warmth. "There's no point being stiff, it just makes anything medical more uncomfortable if the patient doesn't feel relaxed."

A soft chuckle escaped Eiji's lips and he nodded eagerly. He definitely liked this doctor, it was a shame she was obviously going to give birth soon, it meant that he would get a new doctor part way through his pregnancy...

"Okay. Thank you, Katie," he said, blushing a little at the awkwardness of saying it for the first time. After coming into the clinic expecting the doctor to be an authority figure it felt a little taboo to be so casual. He was sure he would get used to it though.

"Now, why did you want to come and see me today? I couldn't find a previous file," she explained with a faint smile. "Has it been misplaced? Or is this your first appointment?"

The omega explained his situation very briefly and she nodded in thought.

"You want confirmation... Okay. Some questions first though, that okay?"

He gave a nod to confirm to her that he was comfortable with the questions and she began. It was simple at first; confirming his primary and secondary genders, his smoking status, whether he drank alcohol, whether there was a family history of certain medical conditions. Then they took an embarrassing turn.

If he was having a baby then he supposed his sex life would be somewhat relevant, but the mortified omega didn't expect to be asked that many questions! 

'Are you currently sexually active?' 

'How many sexual partners have you had?' 

'Did you ever engage in any sexual play that could be considered dangerous for you or a baby?'

They were necessary questions, but answering them was still humiliating. Thank God his mother hadn't come in here with him. She would have had a heart attack even considering her precious omega son having harmful kinks! That was Arthur's thing, not his...

Eiji became uncomfortable as he let his ex slip back into his mind yet again. How had he ever believed the relationship was healthy when Arthur wanted to do those kinds of things to him? The final time they had ever had sex he had been in heat, and Arthur had fucked him over and over in the most horrible ways. He had used the fact that Eiji was delirious and in heat to trick him into consenting to Arthur hurting him once his heat was over. It made him sick...

"Eiji! Eiji, are you okay? You're pale as a sheet..."

He snapped back to reality instantly and blinked vaguely in the doctor's direction. She was frowning and had the same worried look his mother would get. No one could say she didn't care about her patients, and that put Eiji back at ease.

"You need to be totally honest with me, please. There are measures to help and support you if this is the case," she started in a gentle voice, preparing the ask the question the omega was getting sick of hearing. "Were you assaulted, Eiji?"

"No." His answer was instantaneous. Eiji had said 'yes' to Arthur and that had been that. As cruel as Arthur was, he wasn't letting people think he had enough power over the omega to force him into bed, because he didn't. Everything had been Eiji's choice. 

Examining him carefully, she nodded and made a note on a clipboard before smiling. It was an apologetic smile.

"You'll have to forgive me for assuming, I just care a lot about my patients' safety."

Nodding in understanding, he smiled back at her and fiddled with a loose thread on his sleeve. What tests were they going to have to do to find out if he was really pregnant? It would be a lie to say he wasn't nervous, but this doctor was so kind that he knew it would be okay.

She flicked through a couple of pages on her board and hummed in thought. There was something uncertain about her face. Turning to Eiji, she voiced her query.

"Eiji, when was your last heat?"

Oh. Oh! He barely remembered, it seemed like a lifetime ago... Obviously it wasn't that long ago though. He took the pregnancy test two weeks after hisblast heat and it had been two weeks since then... Four weeks then, 29 days to be exact.

It was extremely uncommon for pregnancy tests to be wrong, but if his turned out to be wrong he would look like an idiot. He could still potentially go into a heat over the next few days. For obvious reasons that would be a relief, but it would also make him look stupid... Had he jumped the gun telling people? Doctor Lindley was still waiting for an answer.

"Just under a month ago..."

Making a note on her clipboard again, she gave Eiji a reassuring smile. 

"If you aren't experiencing any pre-heat symptoms then it's likely you are pregnant," she confessed, pulling her dark braid over her shoulder and briefly running a hand down her own baby bump. "However, having said that, we can't confirm anything for you this soon. We can test your urine as a formality, but it would be better if you came back in a couple of weeks."

Eiji thought about this for a moment before nodding. It made sense that it was still too soon to tell considering he could still go into heat for all they knew. His mother would be a bit anxious that they still wouldn't get reassurance for a couple of weeks, but nothing could be done. 

The best thing he could do is take the urine test and then book an appointment for two weeks' time. Ash and Shorter would be disappointed that he didn't get any news, they knew it set him at ease to know things for certain rather than having things be unclear.

Requesting that he take the test and go home, he flushed at the idea of having to pee in the same room as a doctor. It had to be done, he supposed, but it still embarrassed him. Doctor Lindley gave him a small plastic sample container and led him behind a curtain to give him privacy. Here went nothing...

Once it was done he very quickly covered himself back up and sealed the container. Due to his embarrassment and nerves he had struggled a little, but he managed eventually. It felt gross though, and he made sure to wash his hands thoroughly.

"Thanks for coming today, Eiji. Get yourself home safely and remember to come back in a couple of weeks."

He nodded and bowed in thanks, giving her a tiny smile. Her pregnancy was a shame, people would miss out on a great doctor while she took time away from work. People who said omegas couldn't be doctors were wrong, and she was proof of that. She was truly inspirational.


	10. Bombshells

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, hello, hello! I'm back with your new chapter!  
> I enjoyed writing this one, it's the first one that doesn't have Eiji's pregnancy as it's major focus!  
> Nope, this chapter is all about issues a couple of other characters are facing!
> 
> Let's see what I have in store, eh~?
> 
> A few reveals this chapter and there is a lot of heavy stuff, so please be aware that the following trigger warnings apply:  
> \- Implied sexual abuse  
> \- Implied physical abuse  
> \- Mentioned suicide
> 
> I hope you will all enjoy this new chapter! As always, feel free to let me know what you all think!
> 
> I want again to thank you all for being so sweer and supportive, because the love from you guys is what keeps me writing x
> 
> Once again, enjoy!
> 
> ~ Love, Vasser x

Over the past week he had barely thought about his doctor's appointment. Doctor Lindley had been right, it had been too soon to tell whether he was pregnant. The urine test hadn't shown any specific indicators. Upon receiving this news his parents had decided it was best to wait a few weeks before rebooking an appointment. Eiji had decided that until that time came worrying would be a waste of energy. The best course of action would be to go about his day as normal.

Instead, he started considering more about the problems the other people around him had been facing. The omega was ashamed to realise this, but he had been so wrapped up in his own problems that he hadn't spared one thought for Ash. On the day of the festival he had been covered in bruises that had since faded. For an alpha to have bruises then something serious must have happened, yet Eiji hadn't asked about it. Not once. How selfish was that?

He couldn't help but to worry, especially after he realised that Shorter and Sing hadn't been even a little surprised. This wasn't a new thing, and even if it was none of his business he wanted to help. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he nearly walked straight into a wall, making the people around him snicker mean-spiritedly. People would never change...

Straightening his mind out, he balanced himself and looked at the time. Lunch was nearly over, he might as well head to his class early. Classic literature with Blanca wouldn't be too bad. Arthur would be there, but he'd been weirdly inactive the past few days. The worst thing he seemed to be able to do was spread rumours, and frankly Eiji thought that made him more powerless than he let people believe.

Students were either still in the lunch hall or in the hall near the library, so the corridor leading to Blanca's classroom was completely empty. If he could just wait and think things through in silence for a few minutes, that would be a relief. Leaning against the wall near the door, he closed his eyes and let his mind drift. Until he heard voices.

They were inside the classroom and, even though it was wrong, Eiji couldn't help but peek. Yut-Lung was perched on the teacher's desk with a frustrated expression, knuckles visibly white from his hard grip even from Eiji's viewpoint. Blanca was stood leaning against the window with an equally frustrated expression. Their gazes were meeting and the room smelled tense. Why hadn't he been able to smell it before?

"What do you want me to say, Sergei? Despite what my brothers want, I have nothing to do with that blonde twat," the omega's sharp voice snapped. By 'blonde twat' he was assuming that Yut-Lung was talking about Ash. Why would his brothers want him to have a connection with Ash? More importantly, did he just call a teacher by his first name?

Blanca (or Sergei apparently) shifted forward, standing up straight as opposed to leaning. His tall figure almost seemed to loom over the bitter omega.

"I'm just asking, not everything is an accusation or a command. I'm worried about both of you," he insisted in what could only be described as a pissed off tone. "Your brothers and his father are damn untouchable but that doesn't mean we should let them-"

"You're out of line, Sergei. I don't care how much you care, I won't be your fucking damsel."

This was shocking behaviour around a teacher. That language, that aggression, that hate... Not hate directed towards Blanca. It felt a lot deeper than that, like Yut-Lung might be hating himself. 

"... Yue, I just... Natasha got hurt by bad people and I want to stop that happening to you and Ash."

"I'm not Natasha, and poking into my home life isn't how you atone for failing her. Because that's what happened, Sergei, you failed."

Blanca actually looked hurt at the words and Eiji had to wonder why this discussion was even taking place. There had to be more to this than met the eye, students an teachers shouldn't know this much about each other. On top of that, Ash somehow fit into all of this...

He couldn't listen to any more of this, it felt wrong and he would get caught. Quietly, he walked away and considered everything he had heard. Best thing was to make himself scarce until the bell rang, he didn't want anyone figuring out that he had been loitering in that hall.

Ash was more closely linked to Yut-Lung than he first seemed. First off, he knew things about Yut-Lung that no one else seemed to: the abortions, the exact time he presented as an omega. Secondly, they both seemed to hate each other in a way that could only be personal, and then there was the fact that Blanca had seemingly believed that Yut-Lung would be able to answer questions about the quiet alpha. It was Ash's personal life, he supposed, but it sounded extremely serious. 

There was so much new information about Ash, and Eiji also had to admit that he had become slightly intrigued by his fellow omega after everything he had heard. His brothers sounded powerful, and if they were alphas then maybe Yut-Lung had a harder life than people gave him credit for. Maybe he wasn't so bad, and maybe that was why Sing defended him so actively. 

The whole thing made his head hurt, and for the first time since meeting Ash he was wondering what kind of people he had actually ended up falling in with.

\---

"I'm not an idiot, Okumura. What did you hear?"

He looked as deadly as he did on the day of the festival, though in a far more masculine way. His school uniform had no creases and his tie was so thin and sleek it looked like it could cut a man in half. Yut-Lung's beautiful face was feral and his hair was scraped into a tight bun on the back of his head, out of the way. Sharp red eyeliner only added to his ferocity. This man was ready for battle if necessary. 

Eiji felt nervous and strangely vulnerable, like the things he had heard left him open to attack. It was almost too tempting to deny that he had even heard anything and pretend he didn't know what Yut-Lung was talking about. Unfortunately, that would likely just land him in more trouble, Yut-Lung would probably take the lie as a personal insult. 

How did he phrase it though? He had to make sure the other omega knew that it wasn't really deliberate! For a while he stumbled over words, trying to speak but unsure how to explain. This pushed Yut-Lung over the edge because he grabbed Eiji by the shoulder and pinned him to the wall. They were outside the school, and it was ten minutes after the end of the day. No one but the two of them were here, and that made everything worse.

"Are you deaf? I asked what you heard!"

"S-something about A-A-Ash and a woman c-called Natasha and you called B-Blanca 'Sergei'..."

The long-haired male sighed in deep irritation before narrowing his eyes in Eiji's direction. Surprisingly, he actually let go of him. Beneath the irritation was something that he couldn't quite name; possibly panic or even fear. Was everything really so serious that this fearless omega was scared?

Eiji broke the gaze between them first, awkwardly shuffling his feet while glancing down at the ground. He wondered briefly whether Ash knew that Blanca and Yut-Lung discussed him, especially about such serious-sounding things. Again, Eiji knew it wasn't any of his business but he worried that Ash and Yut-Lung were possibly unsafe in their own lives. 

It would explain a lot. It would explain the bruises and the strict control Ash's father had over him. Could he do anything to help if that was the case? What if he made it worse by going about it the wrong way?

"You don't speak of what you heard to anyone. If you do then bad things will happen, and if my brothers find out I'll kill you myself-," he threatened in a low tone before stopping himself when he realised what he had accidentally revealed.

Honestly, he didn't know what possessed him to give him the courage to ask this. After hearing such a thing, though, he couldn't simply pretend that nothing at all was going on. Yut-Lung and he weren't close and didn't get along thus far, but that didn't mean that Eiji shouldn't care when he was suffering. A good person should always help.

"Are your brothers abusive, Yut-Lung?"

The other omega snapped to attention at this and didn't bother to mask the pure venom that entered his eyes. Instantly, Eiji felt icy fear creep into him and he realised why Shorter was so bothered by Yut-Lung. He was so harsh, maybe to stop people from getting close.

Clearly, Yut-Lung didn't want to talk about this, which meant he was right. If he was wrong then he would have just said a simple 'no'. His aggression and his hatred of Eiji for prying made it obvious that Yut-Lung did not want help, even if he needed it. Would Eiji have to insist that Yut-Lung deserved better, even though it would sound laughable coming from someone he hated so deeply?

In the end he didn't need to bother, because Sing came around the corner and blinked in surprise at the scene. Yut-Lung easily relaxed back into his cool indifference all of a sudden and glanced at Eiji in warning. 

"Nothing interesting happened today, Okumura, and you will take everything you know to your grave."

Sing and Eiji silently watched him strut away from them and disappear into a sleek-looking black car, not too far off from being a limousine. Utter rich kid. No wonder he didn't want anyone butting into his problems, to be that rich at least two of his brothers had to be rich and successful alphas. 

Once the car disappeared from sight Eiji turned to Sing and was surprised at the sadness he saw in the beta.

"The poor guy has it rough, Eiji, but he lets me in. I know whatever happened was meant with good thoughts, but I've been working on helping him for a while," he confessed with a tired face, too tired and world-weary for someone only 17 years of age. "He trusts me and I'm sorry but I don't want you involved in case he goes back to the shell he lived in before I got him to talk to me."

That sounded fair enough, so Eiji nodded obediently and sat down on the grass. Running his hands through his hair, he let out a deep sigh and shook his head. The whole situation was a mess, the people suffering who needed help just weren't getting it because no one cared enough.

"... He scares me more than any alpha. He's so intimidating, but I feel like it's a defence mechanism."

"... There was this really famous case a few years back, real messed up. This beta teenager was being abused physically and sexually by her two older brothers. She went to the police for help after it got overwhelming, but the police didn't so shit because her brothers were big strong alphas. So she committed suicide, and only once she gave her life over it did the police bother believing her and investigating her brothers. It took her death for them to bother even suspecting that she was telling the truth. Yut-Lung read the story, and it's the only time I ever saw him cry. When I asked what was wrong, he said: 'If they didn't believe a beta then what chance does an omega have'. He gave up hope completely that day."

The story was harrowing and it shook the omega to his core. He didn't have a clue that there had ever been a case as bad as that, and from the sounds of it Sing was implying that Yut-Lung was going through the same thing. It was disgusting, he couldn't understand why Yut-Lung's brothers would want to hurt him like that...

As always with things that were going on, there was more than met the eye to Yut-Lung Lee. Sing had explicitly told him not to help or get involved, and the suffering omega hated his guts, but he had to do something. He would do the only thing he could, and he would offer his prayers for him. 

"Don't repeat that to anyone, Eiji. I know you're sensible, but... Not even Ash. If Ash knew then Yut-Lung's life would fall to pieces."

The black-haired omega nodded again in acceptance and stood up, gazing at Sing with curiosity. The beta knew more about everyone than he let on, and it was a shame he didn't let more people see how kind a person he was. The world needed more people like Sing.

"I'll leave it to you, Sing."

\---

The two friends bid goodbye not long after that, and on Eiji's walk home he had to consider the conversation he overheard between Blanca and Yut-Lung. Some things still made no sense, and the most burning question of all that worried him: if that was what Yut-Lung was going through, then what kind of comparable horrors haunted Ash?


	11. Decision

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my God... I am so sorry that it has been nearly two months but lockdown had me messed up in the head and also this is a filler chapter and I am horrible at writing filler! Hey, sometimes it's necessary though.
> 
> If you're wondering why this chapter is much shorter than the others, refer to where I said 'I'm horrible at filler' 😂
> 
> Hopefully the next chapter should come much faster than this one did because we'll be back on the good stuff 💓
> 
> I know this chapter is probably the least glamorous thing I've ever written but I hope you enjoy it anyway 😂
> 
> I love you all for being so patient with me!💓✌
> 
> ~ Vasser

Eiji didn't see Ash at school for a week. God knows where he was, all the omega knew was that it definitely hadn't been planned. Shorter and Sing were beside themselves with worry, even if they tried not to show it, and the shorter beta had continuously berated his purple-haired boyfriend when he started coming up with ridiculous theories. The best and weirdest was that Ash had joined some sort of societal revolution and skipped town to fight the cause.

The worst was that the blonde alpha was lying somewhere dead in a ditch.

Shorter acted like it was just another ridiculous joke suggestion but the panic hiding in the lines of his face suggested otherwise. Sing didn't think it was funny and really laid into his boyfriend about appropriate conversation, but it had already been said at that point. It stuck in Eiji's head firmly.

It filled the Japanese boy with anxiety to know that Shorter even considered that a possibility. After the whole fiasco with Yut-Lung Lee just over a week ago he couldn't stop thinking about what kind of trouble Ash might be in. He had, of course, shown up with a suspicious bruise on his face the day of the music festival. Then there was the not-so-subtle animosity towards his family... Abuse?

Speculation wouldn't get him anywhere, he knew this, so he decided to take action. As an omega acting alone he couldn't do much, but if Eiji brought Shorter along for protection then just maybe they could get into the alpha's house to see if he was okay.

"No way," Shorter responded swiftly after the omega finished outlining his plan and pleading his case. Why had he been so quick to shut it down? The beta had been the one most worried about Ash all this time, surely he wanted to know what was going on!

They looked at each other in uncomfortable silence for a moment before Eiji decided that this wouldn't fly. Something was going on with Ash and as friends they needed to care and help!

"Shorter, Ash is our friend, and-"

"Eiji. I'm not usually serious. Actually, I'm a bit of a twat," the beta said with a half-hearted chuckle, running his hand through his hair roughly. "I am serious about this, though. Going will only make shit worse."

It wasn't exactly like the signs hadn't been there, but the omega was still shocked to have it all but confirmed that the tall beta knew exactly what was going on and did nothing to help with whatever it was.

Was it like Shorter said? Would interference make it worse? Because that wasn't how it looked from Eiji's point of view. The poor alpha was already going out into public with black eyes and bruises, and he was already rejected by all other alphas in the school for being too compassionate. Surely standing up for Ash couldn't make it any worse at this point.

Knowing how stubborn the purple-haired beta was, however, he knew there would be no convincing him. Maybe he could convince him for insight though...

"Fine. If we can't go then please, Shorter, just tell me what's going on," the omega begged with a serious and desperate expression. There had been so many hints and clues but he wanted at least a firm grasp of the situation.

Instantly, he was shut down again; not even with words this time, Shorter just straight out walked away with a depressed expression. He really didn't like to be pushed it seemed...

Eiji let out a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. How come every but him knew what was going on? How could they just expect him to accept not knowing and being told not to worry when Ash regularly didn't show up to school and had bruises? That ominous conversation with Yut-Lung didn't help either...

There was nothing he could do alone, he didn't even know where Ash lived. Best to go home for now...

With a gentle sigh he started the trek back home, a terrible feeling of nerves settling into his stomach.

\----

"Mom... How would you handle it if you knew someone you really cared about was in trouble?"

Mrs. Okumura seemed taken aback by the question. Her son had been very quiet so far while helping her prepare dinner, so this had come out of nowhere. The omega boy watched as she put some thought into the question and sighed.

"Well, Eiji, that's not a simple question," his mother said with a calm and reassuring tone. "It depends on the kind of personality your friend has, what kind of trouble they are in, what their secondary gender is... After all, different things affect different genders in different ways, even if we wish it wasn't true."

With a small nod, he simply went back to cooking. Eiji knew that his mom wouldn't push him on this issue if he didn't want to talk about it. It gave him the freedom to think about it privately. Of course, there was also the added bonus of not pissing Ash off by spreading his personal business around.

The situation was that Ash hadn't been at school after showing up with bruises and a bad attitude for the few weeks previous. His blonde alpha friend had a kind yet snappy personality that meant he preferred being independent... Obviously, Ash was an alpha. That led Eiji to the conclusion that he was supposed to sit back and just support the blonde from the sidelines, but that didn't feel right.

His sadness must have shown on his face, because his mother pulled him into a hug and immediately wrapped her little boy in her homely scent. Despite his worries, the teen omega smiled and cuddled into his mom's embrace. No matter how old he got, he would never reject his mother's love.

"Also remember this, Eiji. Sometimes the most reasonable course of action isn't always the right one. Sometimes, you just have to listen to what your kind little heart says," she said clearly and encouragingly into his ear.

So Eiji thought more, and decided as he stared down into a frying pan full of vegetables and rice that he was going to find out where Ash lived and drag Shorter there to finally figure out what was going on.


	12. Maybe I'm Not Good Enough

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy fricking shit, I am so sorry this took me so long. I don't even have any excuse other than mild depression so I'm sorry you didn't get this sooner!
> 
> Either way, this was heartbreaking to write! Prepare your hearts for some reversing to the progress Eiji made and to some absolutely horrible points of view about omegas.
> 
> Needless to say this is a work of fiction and I do not support any sort of real life horrible and discriminatory views. 
> 
> Enjoy the chapter oh lovely readers!
> 
> I'm a little more hyped for the next chapter so I'm hoping to set a smaller two week deadline for the next chapter! 
> 
> ~ Vasser

After making his decision it didn't take long to convince Shorter to come along with him. All he had to do was make it clear that he was going with or without the beta, the only difference would be that he would be more vulnerable without him there. Within his own mind the purple-haired teen also seemed to have decided that he needed to know exactly what was going on with Ash, which just made it even easier to make him tag along.

Admittedly, the blonde alpha had returned to school two days ago but had not revealed anything. Even Sing seemed suspicious of the whole thing, he just had enough tact to not say anything outright. The sooner they got to the bottom of this, the better. He and Shorter were going to go to Ash's home tomorrow. It would be a Saturday and they would have all day to spend figuring things out.

Now, though, was Friday morning and Eiji had called in sick to school. Hopefully he would be okay by tomorrow, but for now he was ridiculously sick. The omega just wanted to stay in bed and sleep it off but his mom insisted that he go to see the doctor in case it was some sort of illness that could be harmful to his potential baby.

Even though it sickened him to move he forced himself to stand and to get dressed into a pair of jeans and a loose t-shirt and sweater. His mom tried to encourage him to just eat some pancakes for breakfast but Eiji couldn't bring himself to stomach food right now. The smell of food made him gag which in turn caused him to throw up into the toilet a few more times before the sickness seemed to pass. 

Deciding it was best to leave while Eiji felt like it had cleared, his father drove him down to the same clinic he went to for his first appointment. It was lucky his dad had a day off, because it was far easier to get a last-minute appointment if you had an alpha vouching for you.

They had been silent the whole car journey at the omega's request. He really didn't feel like he could handle small talk right now; he was low on energy due to throwing up and he wanted to conserve the energy he had left for talking to Doctor Lindley about what was going on. 

"I'll wait in the car after we've got you an appointment, son, I remember your mother saying you were more comfortable going in alone," his father stated gently with a reassuring smile. Despite his lack of will, he managed to give a small smile back. He got so lucky with an alpha father who respected what he wanted.

Approaching the clinic as quickly as Eiji could manage (his sickness was vaguely flaring up again), his father walked up to the front desk with him. The receptionist was different to last time, a man, who looked between the omega and his father with confusion.

"Can I help you, gentleman?"

Eiji's dad started to explain the situation and allowed his son to take a seat nearby and just listen in for the details. 

"...and unfortunately Doctor Lindley began her maternity leave last week. Instead I can get you an appointment with her replacement, Doctor Mannerheim? I promise you he's just as good as Doctor Lindley, probably better."

There wasn't much choice so they agreed and were promptly put into the calendar for an appointment in ten minutes. The omega's father retreated back to the car and before he knew it Eiji was called through to an examination room.

It was the same room as his last visit but it had been changed completely. Doctor Lindley had put little positive and motivational posters all over the walls as well as diagrams showing the changes a body went through during pregnancy. The new doctor had removed all of them, causing the room to feel impersonal and even somewhat unfriendly. Doctor Mannerheim himself was even worse.

He was old, a lot older than Doctor Lindley, with receding brown hair and a matching moustache that was starting to grey a little. The elder man obviously also liked to assert his dominance and mark his territory, because the waves of pheromones and alpha scent coming from him were almost suffocating. It set the omega on edge.

He looked at Eiji with annoyance and even a hint of distaste, as if having him here was ridiculous even though he was sick. Mannerheim gave off a general aura of hostility and seemed like he would be beyond unhelpful. Doctor Lindley had just wanted the best for Eiji, to help the omega understand what his body was going through. This new doctor probably wouldn't give him the time of day.

Anxiety roiled in the pit of his stomach and made him feel nauseous again, but he forced himself to keep it together even though all he wanted to do was cry. Doctor Mannerheim finally gestured to Eiji to sit down and frowned.

"You're sick?"

It was a blunt question without any real feeling.

"... Yes. I-I threw up this morning and-."

"You're too stupid to even know your own body, omega? You guessed you were pregnant but you couldn't identify morning sickness?"

The cruelty of the questions, the judgement in the doctor's tone, set the young omega on edge. Well... It was true enough that the possibility of morning sickness hadn't crossed his mind, but had he really done something wrong in coming to check? In wanting to make sure there was no threat to his potential child? Although, if he was suffering from morning sickness he guessed that child was now very much certain...

Mannerheim's face made it clear he thought this was a waste of time, and if the first two minutes of this appointment were any indication then he wasn't even going to let Eiji get a full sentence out of his mouth. He had to at least try though, right?

"I-it wasn't-!"

Cut off again.

"There are no excuses for time wasting, omega," he all but growled at the teenager as he stood from his chair and pulled a piece of prescription paper out of a drawer. Scribbling carelessly, the older man started reeling off information.

"The urine test confirmed your pregnancy. Take these prescribed prenatal vitamins from now until you give birth, avoid seafoods and the like. You were made for breeding so you should take responsibility and look after this yourself," came the almost accusing start of a lecture. "More importantly, why isn't your alpha here? It's important for your alpha to hear that while you're pregnant it is still perfectly safe for you to service them in rut. It's a pain when omegas forget their place and try to lie to get out of their duty to service their alpha."

Right then he just wished that the ground would open up and swallow him down so that he didn't have to deal with these accusations and this unnecessary cruelty. Why was his personal life even relevant in this? Mannerheim was just another alpha in society that saw omegas as unimportant and made the little voice in Eiji's head scream that he had to just submit and obey.

Honestly, the way the doctor was talking to him intimidated the Japanese boy and made him want to get on his knees to grovel and beg forgiveness. For a moment the doctor had actually paused and it took a darkening in his expression for Eiji to realise he was waiting for a response.

No, he would have to be honest... He would have to face this man's judgement...

"I-I...have n-no alpha..."

"No alpha?" The doctor parroted his words with a sigh before thrusting the prescription carelessly into the younger male's face. "There's no helping omegas like you, just take the prescription and leave. I have patients with actual problems to deal with."

Just like that, Eiji suddenly felt his certainty about being able to do this come crashing down. What if people like Mannerheim were right? What if he couldn't do this without an alpha? What if this really was all his fault and he was just some slut who was wasting everybody else's time? Slumping in defeat, the omega shuffled quickly out of the doctor's office and decided it wasn't even worth discussing what had happened.

What if people agreed with Mannerheim? They would say that the doctor was right and they would shame Eiji endlessly for being hopeless and a waste of an omega who couldn't even keep his alpha around. Luckily the morning sickness had already caused him to call in sick for school today, so maybe it was best for him to just retreat home and make a nest in his bed. He could console himself with empty words and ice cream and terrible Netflix shows...

All he could do from now on was be a good omega; be a good parent to his unborn child and accept that alphas were the people of authority. Accept that maybe he just wasn't good enough for a happy life.


	13. Let Us In, Let Us Help

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, would you look at that! Vasser actually wrote something, the lazy shit! 
> 
> I'm sorry this took so long, I'll try to do better in future! 
> 
> I hope that you all enjoy the chapter! It's not what I originally intended to focus on in this chapter but there's been too much emphasis on Eiji's pregnancy thus far and I needed some other aspects to start coming into the story!
> 
> Enjoy and hopefully the next chapter will come soon!
> 
> Stay safe! Lots of love!
> 
> ~ Vasser

The fateful Saturday was here, and Eiji almost didn't want to go. As much as he cared about his alpha friend he wasn't sure if he deserved to face him. The only thing that had forced him out of bed was the fact that this wasn't a friendly visit; Ash could have a serious problem. After everything he owed it to him to help.

Eiji wasn't good for much else after all. 

Throwing on a faded pair of jeans and a baggy jumper was about all he could muster energy for. Doctor Mannerheim's words shouldn't have gotten to him but they did. He was right. The omega boy had no alpha, he had let him down, and now he was going to have an unwanted child. Depressing thoughts like this were quickly making him weary down in his very soul. 

Ash didn't need that negativity today, the poor alpha was likely going through enough. So he threw up in the toilet as he did yesterday morning and put on a brave face, putting effort into brushing his hair. He had already been enough of a burden, he would have to keep his troubles hidden from his parents and friends. 

Looking brighter, the omega headed down to breakfast and was shocked to find Shorter already there. His friend was leaning casually against the kitchen counter with a typical Shorter grin saying who knew what to his mother. Something about Nadia Wong and food by the sounds of it.

"Sorry, Mrs. Okumura, but my sister's Chinese food is always gonna top your stuff," he said with a cheeky grin before stealing a piece of bacon. Apparently he was challenging his mother's capabilities in the kitchen.

"If that's the case, young man, then you can keep your hands to yourself!"

Despite himself Eiji smiled and finally revealed himself. Shorter waved enthusiastically and grabbed the omega's arm, pulling him into the kitchen. People instantly started nattering about breakfast and healthy babies and he felt sick to his stomach. Maybe because of his mood. For some reason a bad mood always made him feel queasy at the thought of eating.

"I-I'm good. Morning sickness, I don't feel hungry."

It was a pathetic excuse, he knew, but they bought it anyway. Unfortunately, it had the added effect of making his father fuss over him. The omega didn't particularly listen to what was being said; he just mumbled reassurances that he was still fine to go out and he would eat properly later.

Mrs. Okumura looked infinitely more convinced than Mr. Okumura, doting and protective alpha that he was. Jesus, anyone would think he was barely ten years old. Without even realising he started to emit an annoyed sort of scent and his father just gave him a look. Eiji instantly felt bad.

"Sorry," he said softly before kissing his father on the cheek and dragging Shorter out of the house. It wasn't going to do him any good to keep receiving all this care and fuss when he didn't deserve it.

\----

They had walked the first part of the distance in silence, but after about ten minutes the beta gave Eiji a suspicious look. 

"You're different this morning. You were really mean to your parents," he accused bluntly, running a hand through his now-fading purple hair. "What the hell is going on with you? You did a disappearing act yesterday and now you're in a shitty mood."

The catch of his grand plan to avoid worrying people was that Eiji had never been a particularly good actor. More than likely the snappiness was coming from morning sickness more than his negative thoughts, but that didn't make him feel any leas guilty. 

Should he just confess about Doctor Mannerheim to Shorter? His beta friend looked equally annoyed and worried about Eiji's attitude; the omega was usually so respectful after all. It was likely for the best that no one knew though. There was no point getting a doctor in trouble over his own failures. He would just have to be vague, but he would talk about it later.

"I'm sorry, Shorter. Someone just...said something that upset me the other day. I'll talk about it later," the omega promised sincerely, letting the sound of their footsteps on the concrete paths calm him. "Ash is more important right now."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. I swear, if that bastard is doing something to Ash-!"

He almost seemed to cut himself off as they rounded a corner and entered a far fancier district of New York with huge houses that slowly developed into mansions the further down the street you looked. If Eiji had been in the right mind he might have taken a photo on his phone to upload to a computer and edit later, the scene was beautiful. 

"Don't look so impressed, Eiji, I promise you that big houses don't mean shit. People who live up this way tend to be absolute bastards," Shorter said honestly with a weak chuckle. 

Soon enough the two of them suddenly stopped walking and the omega followed his friend's gaze to a huge mansion to their right. It wasn't the biggest home on the street, but it was close. This was where Ash lived?!

The two teenagers couldn't bring themselves to speak a word, they just silently approached the gate and hesitated. No one seemed willing to press the intercom and the fact that the normally careless Shorter was uncertain about this spoke volumes to Eiji. The blonde alpha's father was not a good person... As if the various bruises and disappearances hadn't already revealed that.

The thought of those injuries filled the little omega with righteous rage once more. Finally throwing caution to the wind, he pressed the button. If Shorter had looked into Eiji's expression at that moment he would have seen fire dancing in his brown eyes.

It took a while, but eventually they received an answer. Not in the form of someone on the intercom. No, a fat man with brown hair and sunglasses covering his eyes appeared on the other side of the gate. A beta by the scent of things. Shorter tensed up a little and snarled.

"You again? Didn't Mr. Golzine tell you to piss off last time?" The fat man's voice came out somewhat roughly, and he smirked in Shorter's direction. Bastard. Maybe it was too early to judge, but the omega hated this man already. 

He came across as condescending and was clearly going to be a barrier. It was unlikely that he would just let them in to check on Ash.

"Tell us where Ash is and we'll go, sir," Eiji stated, trying to sounds as respectful as possible. Being rude definitely wasn't going to get them anywhere, as satisfying as Shorter likely thought it would be to blow up at this man.

"None of your business, whore. You two are just a common omega and a beta. Mr. Golzine has plans for Ash's life, and they don't involve either of you so scram!"

At that exact moment Ash appeared at the gate and blinked in surprise.

"... Get out of the way Marvin, I'm leaving."

Without waiting for an answer the young alpha barged past Marvin, who instantly started shouting obscenities. Obviously he didn't appreciated being treated like nothing, but Eiji doubted that Ash cared one bit.

The gate slowly swung open. There had been surprisingly little conflict considering the animosity in Ash's eyes, but life wasn't a soap opera he supposed. Things didn't tend to be as dramatic as expected.

"Eiji, Shorter, come with me. We're leaving," the blonde practically hissed out, a level of command in his voice that Eiji had never heard from his alpha friend. Aggression radiated from his usually calm scent and even Shorter appeared uncomfortable with the situation.

Apparently there was going to be hell to pay. The only question was who was Ash going to make pay that price?

\----

About an hour later the three boys were loitering around the staff entrance to Chang Dai, Nadia Wong's restaurant. No one seemed to want to talk about what had happened and Eiji was slowly shrinking into himself. Why had he ever believed that he could help the situation? All he had done was make everyone angry and uncomfortable by trying to butt in.

Honestly, he was so wrapped up in worrying about how upset he must have made Ash that he was almost forgetting the alpha had even bigger problems. The omega must have been releasing a distressed scent because despite everything the blonde put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, Eiji... Remember when you told your parents you were pregnant and you sent us all relaxed and hazy?" Weird question, but Eiji nodded in confirmation anyway. "It's fine if you can't control it, but if you can control it then do you think you can do it again?"

The request took him by surprise and he leaned into Ash's touch, trying his best to comply. It was out of his reach though, he couldn't quite manage to force his scent out in the way he wanted. He supposed it made sense. That situation had been an uncontrollable emotional reaction after all.

"Sorry. I can't d-do it, I'm useless-"

"Eiji, stop it! For fuck's sake!"

Shorter and the black-haired boy both blinked in surprise at the snap in their alpha friend's tone. 

"I'm sick and tired of you putting down your own self worth! I'm so fucking worried about you on top of all the other shit going on," Ash confessed with a pained expression, grabbing the omega by the shoulders and forcing him to meet his eye. "I know why you came today, you know something's up and you want to help. Well, I feel the same about my friends! I'm tired of you shitting on yourself about this pregnancy! You're more than this, you're Eiji Okumura and you're fucking worth something!"

The words gushed out of the blonde like a wild ocean wave as though he had said this on instinct. Honestly, Eiji was almost touched. When was the last time someone had actively told him he had worth?

Ash's scent had spiked and grown stronger, but not in a negative way. Stronger undertones of lemon had filled the air with a pleading quality, and honestly the scent mixed with the smells of the food from inside Chang Dai was more than pleasant.

"... Thank you, Ash."

"Hey, as much as I hate to break up this little thing I'm not letting you dodge this bullet. What is that prick doing to you, Ash?"

"You know, Shorter, it's obvious," the boy stated with a casual roll of his bright green eyes. "Need me to spell it out? Fine. Isolating me, beating me, trying to force me to be an asshole of an alpha, trying to arrange me a marriage with some rich kid pedigree omega."

Overwhelmed, Eiji could only stare with a gaping expression. The physical abuse had been so poorly hidden that during conversations it had been guessed at. Everything else though... An arranged marriage? In this day and age? At age seventeen?

Meanwhile, Shorter didn't even take time to process the information. Without waiting he punched Ash across the face, staring at him with narrowed eyes and a reddened face. Apparently he had lost his temper.

"You should have told us!"

"Why?" The question was short and calm-sounding from Ash. "If I'd have told you what would you have done? What're you gonna do about it, Shorter? Nothing, that's what! There's nothing you can do!"

No. Call him naïve, but Eiji was unwilling to believe that his dear friend could do nothing about his situation. Maybe there wasn't much an omega could realistically do, but he could sure as hell try.

So as Shorter and Ash argued Eiji stayed silent, unwilling to give them false hope just yet, and he let the wheels in his head start turning.


	14. Making Progress

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back me I suppose! Oh hell, this has been a heck of a month! I'm just glad I finally got this finished, even if it was later than planned!
> 
> I hope you all enjoy this chapter, although I will give specific warning of implied non-con, abuse and incest! I wonder if we can all guess who that relates to?
> 
> Either way, I hope you enjoy this chapter even though it turned out a little darker than intended! We're getting the ball rolling here!
> 
> I love you all, thanks for all your support so far!  
> ~ Vasser x 💓

A few days after Ash's confession Eiji was still scheming and thinking. There had to be something he could do to get his friend out of that bad situation. Just by thinking he had ended up working out a puzzle piece he hadn't even meant to put into place.

On Wednesday he walked into Blanca's class with purpose. Arthur didn't seem to be there today, and he couldn't help but feel it meant fate was on his side. No Arthur meant no distractions or heckling, no rumours spreading based on the fact that he needed to talk to the teacher alone after class today. 

Ash had been good to him these past 5 weeks. The omega was only 7 weeks pregnant but already the alpha had become a key supporting pillar in this pregnancy. After everything the blonde had done and would do for him Eiji owed it to Ash to try and fix this.

Frantically taking notes of the novel they were studying, the omega drowned himself in the classwork to prevent himself from being antsy. Besides, he cared about passing his classes in the first place. Even though he had already let people down he needed to try and prove he could still do something.

Class passed in a blur, and all the student really remembered was writing something about the stigma of strength the novel's alpha lead felt obligated to live up to. Character development and exposition stuff. It didn't really matter to him right now anyway, he would review the notes later in a study session.

Now he had to catch Blanca. 

This was a lesson directly before lunch so hopefully it wouldn't actually be hard. Slowly, ever so slowly, the omega started putting books and pens back into his backpack. If all went to plan then he should be the only student left in the classroom by the time he finished.

The literature teacher soon enough gave Eiji a look with raised eyebrows. Obviously he had gotten his attention. Good. Now it was just a case of figuring out how to broach the subject. Coming across as nosy instead of helpful was against his best interests.

"Can I help you, Eiji?"

Here went nothing.

"How long have Ash and Yut-Lung been engaged?"

For a moment there was a beat of silence. Blanca's eyes had actually widened by the barest fraction, the only indicator that he was in any way surprised. The teacher took a moment to consider carefully how he should respond, and that alone told Eiji that his gamble had been right.

"... They're not. Not officially. You really shouldn't get involved in their family matters, Eiji," he advised softly. Logically he knew the alpha teacher was just trying to be helpful but it still angered the omega to be told that he should stay out of this when Ash was so clearly miserable.

More silence filled the room and Blanca soon caved, shaking his head. He mumbled something about his office and privacy before beckoning for his student to follow him. Eiji didn't waste a single minute.

As soon as they were both shut away in Doctor Varishikov's office there was yet another uncomfortable moment of silence. It actually started to worry the omega; he should have approached this differently. How stupid was he to bring it up so directly? What an idiot!

"Eiji? Are you still with me?"

"O-oh... Yes, sir."

"How did you figure out that Ash and Yut-Lung were connected?" Of course, Blanca was bound to be curious about that. It wasn't exactly like an arranged engagement and marriage was common knowledge at all. Most people believed things like that didn't even happen anymore, not in this day and age.

He didn't really know how to describe it. Saturday had been a big factor in putting together the ins and outs of his friend's life, and various hints to the connection with the Chinese omega had connected in his mind in a way that didn't really make sense in words.

"Well... Little things. Lots of little things," Eiji started with a look of deep concentration. "On Saturday, Ash confessed his an arranged marriage to me and Shorter. Or, he admitted that's what his father wants. Then on the first day I met Ash he said something about Yut-Lung having some abortions, but no one else seemed to know about that. That suggested a personal connection. Then I also overheard your conversation with Yut-Lung in the classroom a week or so ago..."

At that point Blanca's face turned red. Why he didn't know; anger, shame, feeling flustered? Right. That had been a very serious conversation after all, and the two people had been so casual with each other. There had to be something going on between the two of them.

Fortunately he could keep his teacher on topic. Whatever relationship he had with the other omega wasn't the point - or not now anyway. With a deep sigh Blanca ran his hand through his hair and dropped onto his chair. Knowing that someone heard them was obviously a shock to his system.

"Anyway, I figured it out and I need your help... Please sir, you're the only person I can trust to help," he pleaded in a polite and soft voice. Admittedly, he felt a little guilty that he had ambushed his teacher with this but it was too urgent to back out of this. Ash needed help sooner rather than later.

Now, here came the insane part of his plan.

"Ash doesn't want this and nor does Yut-Lung. Ash just wants to be free and Yut-Lung... Yut-Lung is in love with you."

You could have heard a pin drop in the room at that moment. The older man's entire body had locked up with tension and severity, and he gave Eiji a look. 

"I can't do anything. My hands are tied, I... I can't just oppose families like Ash's. Especially not the Lee family," he said in a strained voice. Not the answer Eiji had wanted or expected. Maybe he had been naïve to believe Blanca would freely help with no objections.

Something had to be done though. Behind his cruel and biting demeanour the omega just knew that Yut-Lung Lee was hurting, and Ash seemed to have little to no hope left. Both boys didn't seem to even be trying to do anything about their fate, the two had long since been reduced to petty acts of rebellion. Ash going places and mingling with people his father didn't approve of and Yut-Lung playing around with whichever alphas took his fancy.

A frown of disappointment made its way onto Eiji's face and he dircted it at his teacher. He was an adult - better equipped to protect Yut-Lung and Ash than anyone else. Why wouldn't he? At least he looked guilty...

"So you won't help them then? Even though you love Yut-Lung back?"

Doctor Varishikov's head instantly whipped towards the door to ensure no one was loitering or listening. Even after he was satisfied there was no one there he remained tense.

"You can't just say that, Eiji!" For once, his teacher actually sounded unsettled. "Besides all the obvious problems, Yue's brothers would hurt him if they knew anything of what he felt. I have to protect him as best I can, and that means never letting his brothers hear of us."

Damn! He hadn't thought at all! Eiji had been so focused on getting the two boys out that he hadn't even thought to be careful about what he said until that happened! How stupid could he be?

Taking a steady breath, he calmed himself and nodded in understanding at his teacher.

"Then I'll just try my best myself to help," the omega said in a defeated tone. 

"I don't suppose there's any way I can convince you not to get involved?"

"... No. There isn't."

There was a fire in the omega's eyes that Blanca seemed to acknowledge, because he inclined his head in acceptance before relaxing himself.

"Be careful, Eiji Okumura. I shouldn't tell you this as a teacher but those families will do anything to keep you away, including threatening your baby. Be careful."

\----

Green tea and jasmine filled Eiji's nostrils mixed with a hint of aggression. Shit. It was the end of the school day, if he could just retreat off the school grounds then surely he wouldn't be followed...!

Too late. Before he knew it he was pinned to a brick wall and he met the blazingly furious eyes of Yut-Lung Lee. He had only talked to Blanca a couple of hours ago, how did the other omega know about it already?

"Have a nice chat with Blanca, you meddling little shit?"

Part of him wanted to play dumb, but that would just make this situation worse. The best thing the omega could possibly do was face the music and ket Yut-Lung work out his rage.

"I just want to help," he decided to confess, earning a hard shove from his fellow omega. Apparently that wasn't very much appreciated. Yut-Lung's grip on Eiji's shoulders tightened slightly as he pressed the older omega marginally harder into the wall.

This could go one of two ways, and the pregnant teenager wasn't sure he liked either of them. Either the younger boy could say some biting remark and walk away without accepting any help or giving any information, or worse he could lose his temper and get physically violent in frustration.

Yut-Lung went with an unpredicted third option.

"You just can't keep your damn nose out of it," he hissed with a frown before finally releasing the pregnant man's shoulders and allowing him to step away from the wall. "You want to help? No. Forget it. All you're going to do is fuck me over and put your own da,n baby in the line of fire. Forget it."

It surprised the Japanese boy that the younger one cared about his unborn child, but he wasn't going to complain if Yut-Lung was genuinely warning him that he could put his child in danger.

"... Yut-Lung, why-"

"No. You aren't asking questions, there isn't any reason for you to know anything you don't already know. Don't push your luck." The words held a warning in them and Eiji became mildly frustrated. He just wanted to help, could the other omega not see that?

Pushing it wouldn't do him any favours. There would have to be a build-up of trust before he tried to ask questions again... Maybe the two of them didn't see eye to eye, but Yut-Lung was a key figure in helping Ash, and helping him out at the same time was an added bonus. Something deep inside Eiji's heart needed to make sure they were both okay.

He was about to speak again until a familiar voice suddenly sounded nearby, and the younger omega put on his seductive yet vicious mask. He couldn't help the narrowing of his eyes as Arthur came around the corner, separating from whoever he had been talking to nearby.

"Oh? Look at what we have here, boys. Two little sluts."

Two sluts? So Arthur and Yut-Lung were no longer on speaking terms then. If anything, judging by the atmosphere, there was even more hostility between the two of them than there was between Eiji and Arthur. 

"Two worthless little whores. You know, you should really thank me, Lee, I'm keeping your dirty little secret," his ex drawled out with a cruel smile. "It wouldn't do any good to my image if everyone knew I'd been sleeping with a brother-fucker. Seriously, you're both worthless, why did I put any effort into you cheap sluts?"

Yut-Lung tensed up at the words and started to feel extremely anxious. Eiji could only tell because the younger teen's scent developed an anxious undertone, he was disturbingly good at physically hiding what he was feeling.

Arthur looked satisfied with what he'd said, as if saying this in front of Eiji to humiliate Yut-Lung was such a power move over the both of them. Someone else learned of the sassy omega's closely kept secret, and the alpha rubbed it in his ex's face that no one would ever believe the knocked up omega if he tried to tell anyone.

It was disgusting.

It disgusted Eiji to know that an alpha had found out about such a horrible situation and was using it to hold power over omegas instead of helping. It sickened him that Frederick fucking Arthur and all the other alphas like him wanted to step on those more unfortunate than them. The taunting and the cruelty and the sheer disrespect made Eiji feel like he wanted to snap.

So he did. 

One second he had been stood beside the anxious younger man, then the next he was struggling in Yut-Lung's arms as the usually more aggressive omega actually held him back from punching the alpha straight in the jaw. 

"You think we're so worthless and so cheap, but at least I can honestly claim I was only ever in bed with you! At least Yut-Lung can honestly say he's never forced someone into bed with him! You think we're so worthless, but you'll fuck any omega that moves! You aren't this almighty being, Arthur, you're just a damn animal who doesn't deserve the time of day from any omega!"

His scent dominated the area in an almost overpowering way, just like the day where his scent had blown up and sedated everyone in his living room. Rather than a sedative, this time Eiji's scent acted as a deadly warning; a foul scent that seemed almost toxic to show Arthur he was seriously and royally pissed off.

More than anything he was tired. Tired of him and others being treated like shit by scumbags like Arthur and Mannerheim. Yes, Eiji had messed up and had failed himself and his family, but that didn't mean he deserved to be treated like this.

Yut-Lung's face wasn't visible but the blonde alpha was taken aback by the outburst. He looked almost shaken, like he hadn't expected a mere omega to have that kind of force or presence. 

"... Fuck you," Arthur growled out lowly in defeat before retreating. Only once he was firmly out of sight did the younger omega release his hold on Eiji.

Both omegas panted hard from the emotional and physical exertion of the whole scene and outburst.

As his scent died down Eiji was overcome with both pride and shock. There were conflicting feelings in his chest, his heart simultaneously telling him both that it was unbelievable he had done that and that it had been a long time coming.

Yut-Lung appeared in Eiji's direct line of sight, arms folded sternly over his chest as he stood in an authoritative pose and gave the pregnant male an assessing stare.

"... You can help, but only on my terms. You run everything you plan to do past me, do you understand?"

This was an opening that he desperately needed, and one that likely wouldn't come by again. Maybe Eiji had impressed him by showing such an attitude just now. Whatever the reason, he was just relieved he had found his in. For Ash he needed to do this. To save his friend he needed Yut-Lung.

"I understand..."

Without another word the younger man strutted away, long ponytail swishing behind him.


	15. We'll Work It Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha, I am sorry this took so long! I will be totally honest, I nearly dropped this because of one person who commented on one of my other fics being very verbally abusive telling me I should update this, but then I decided to persevere despite the fact my muse was gone...
> 
> And then Sparkle 94 (acpendra) happened. You can thank them for the fact that you guys got a chapter before the new year honestly 💓  
> I read some Ash and Yut-Lung one shots they did that are frankly beyond excellent and it kind of just had me bouncing off the walls with excitement and made me go 'FUCK YEAH I GOT THIS'  
> Basically, seeing how cool they were and finding out they liked this fic made me basically melt because of my god they are such a good writer and they like my fic??? ❤️
> 
> So yeah, long story short, you can thank Sparkle 94 (acpendra) for this chapter. This one is for you, Sparkle! 💓 I'm very happy I came across your one shots, so thank you for unintentionally inspiring me to keep going!
> 
> On a slightly happier note, thank you all so much for 400 kudos, I never thought this fic would blow up like that x You're all absolute stars and you all make negative shit like the comments I first mentioned absolutely worth it ❤️ I love writing for you all and I'm so happy you guys love it as much as I love providing it ❤️
> 
> Side note: I binge wrote this this afternoon so sorry for any grammatical errors and the like! I was just more hyped about this than I have been in a long time! 🤗✨
> 
> Thank you one last time, Sparkle 94 (acpendra) and I hope you all enjoy the new chapter!
> 
> ~ Vasser x

This was further than he ever expected to get. Eiji had Yut-Lung on his side and had a way he could at least try and keep pushing Blanca to help them as a responsible adult. If he knew this situation was going on them he really had to take a stand! He had the resources. Now he just needed to figure out what the bloody hell he was actually supposed to do with them.

It occurred to him that he still had no idea who Ash's father even was, he had never seen Yut-Lung's brothers, he had no idea what they were capable of... Hopefully his new ally would be able to help him in that regard, at least.

Right now wasn't the time to worry about this, though; not when he was missing the start of his journalism class with Mister Lobo because the black-haired boy was too busy throwing up in one of the school toilets. His morning sickness was an absolute menace... At least it would hopefully end soon, though. It was supposed to end at between 12 and 14 weeks, and he was 10 weeks pregnant already now.

Time had flown, he had been a part of Ash's group for two months now and despite how much of a mess the omega was he could tell that they cared for him as much as he cared for them. God knows why, but they did. All he wanted to do was repay that kindness and care by helping the blonde alpha out of his awful situation.

Finally, he stopped throwing up and flushed it all away. Eiji carefully cleaned his face in one of the sinks to make himself seem entirely normal to attend class before heading off to journalism studies at last. Mister Lobo didn't ask why he was late, and Eiji wasn't going to humiliate himself by explaining unnecessarily that he was throwing up. The less attention on him, the better.

Getting through the class was relatively simple, and he managed to catch up the 7 or 8 minutes he missed. Thank goodness. The omega really didn't want to fail any of his classes. Maybe he was a knocked up whore but he still had his grades to try and make his parents proud of him. Mister Lobo dismissed the class without fuss but Eiji loitered behind.

Once the two of the were alone in the room he approached with an awkward smile. His journalism teacher looked up at the black-haired teen with a warm expression before nodding. 

"Whatever it is, Eiji, I'll gladly help."

"Thank you, sir. I was just wondering if Miss Randy had finished my new extra class schedule yet...?"

The teacher hummed in thought for a moment before starting to rummage through his desk for something. Had he received it? If so that would be a weight of Eiji's mind. He wanted to start his extra lessons as soon as possible so that it would be easier to keep ahold of his good grades with everything that was going on. Soon enough he was handed a post-it note.

"Miss Randy notified all your teachers earlier, she sent your schedule straight to Mister Varishikov this morning," Mister Lobo explained helpfully as the black-haired omega read through the note. "She actually got help from one of your peers to make the schedule. No one could get in touch with you or your parents to find out which day you schedule appointments, so we managed to get Ash Lynx to give us tips on what times work better for you."

That...was news to Eiji. Ash had helped? The alpha had helped them make it the best they could for him? Honestly, he had no idea that Ash had even been paying that much attention to what days he was missing or what the black-haired boy tended to regularly do. He was so kind...

A warm feeling washed through Eiji and his inner omega preened at the idea that this very different alpha clearly cared about him and was willing to help him. It was totally inappropriate with everything going on in both of their eyes, but something inside him was seriously starting to like Ash. He acted free-spirited and confident but deep down he was also caring and vulnerable and put others before himself. Eiji was starting to like him for who he was and he wanted to help the alpha start learning to take care of his own needs too; to get him to ask for help if and when he needed it.

"Thank you for telling me, Mister Lobo. I'll thank him."

"No problem. Take care of yourself, Eiji."

\----

At lunch he approached the table their little group usually occupied and sat down opposite Sing. Then he did a double-take. Shorter was nowhere in sight and seated by the shorter beta's side in his place was Yut-Lung Lee.

"I told you he wouldn't be happy to see you, Yut-Lung," Sing sternly said to the more feminine omega sat by his side. He didn't seem to really care in the slightest, just shrugging his delicate shoulders and flipping his long silken hair behind his shoulder. What was he doing here? Shorter was going to absolutely flip his shit if he came to find the more bitter omega here. 

With their new tentative alliance, though, Eiji wasn't willing to alienate Yut-Lung. Besides that, he was starting to understood what Sing always said about the other omega being severely misunderstood. That arrogance and viciousness was starting to feel like it was probably a mask to hide all the bad things he was going through. He had pieced together what Yut-Lung's home life must be like from Sing's story weeks back and from what Arthur had spat at their last confrontation. 

It was probably best to let the beta know that it was actually okay that he was here. Eiji had no problem with it and he really should probably let Ash know what was happening sooner rather than later. When it came to it he knew he could count on Sing to talk Shorter down from doing anything aggressive.

"Actually, Sing... It's fine," he reassured politely before finally letting go of his meal tray and making himself meet the other omega's eyes (no matter how intimidating he still felt). "It's nice to see you again, Yut-Lung."

The Chinese omega let out a noncommittal grunt as Sing looked between them with wariness and confusion. 

"Is there...something I'm missing here?"

"Don't worry your little head about it, Sing," Yut-Lung responded breezily instantly. "Okumura and I have a little agreement. I'm here to make sure he really intends to carry his side of the bargain out."

Sing seemed to realise something deep in his bones as a look of horror and slight fear passed over his face. What had he assumed that would make him look so horrified? Everyone had warned him that Ash's adoptive father was awful and that Yue's family was worse, but to have that kind of look on his face...

"Please tell me you didn't-!"

"What the fuck is he doing here?!"

Oh crap.

Eiji had been so intently focused on Sing that he hadn't heard or scented Ash's approached. An overwhelming scent of pissed off alpha rolled over him and he reluctantly shuddered, sour lemon scent once again forcing itself into his nose. On instinct the thought of running away crossed his head, but he fought the feeling and forced himself to remain seated. Loosing a calming breath helped him focus himself.

"Ash, I-"

"Save it, Sing! Where the fuck is Shorter?"

"He's off sick-"

"And so you thought it was acceptable to bring this fucker here?!"

This was spiralling far too quickly and Eiji knew he had to stop it somehow. Standing from his seat and quickly twirling to face Ash, he gently grabbed the blonde's wrists and looked into his eyes to keep him calm. All of his friend's attention turned to him and for him it seemed that Ash was willing to listen.

His face was still twisted with anger and faint disgust. What had been forced upon both of them that had forced them to hate each other so much, when deep down they both knew neither of them had any say or control over this? Maybe it was naive to think this, but he hoped that if they could all find a way to fix this then the two of them could finally face the inner demons that caused them to treat one another so aggressively.

"Yut-Lung is here for a reason, Ash. You told us what was going on," he started with a shaky breath. "I'm not stupid, I figured out the arranged marriage was between you and Yut-Lung. He hates the idea just as much as you do, and we're all going to find a way to stop it. I'm going to start looking into laws and things whenever I can and we're going to find a plan on what we can do to get both you and Yut-Lung out of your situations."

The whole time he kept his tone level and honest; this was all pointless if he didn't at least attempt to make it sound like he had confidence in what they were going to try and do it. A blanket of silence lowered over the four of them for a moment and Ash and Eiji kept staring at one another the whole time, neither of them backing down.

If his scent was any indication then the alpha was calming down a little but he still looked tense. Hopefully he could resolve that... But then Ash suddenly gently yanked his wrists free from Eiji's hold and shook his head in irritation and defeat. 

"And what're you gonna do, Eiji? I know you mean well, but there is nothing we can do against the bastards. I've been trying for years," he said gently but firmly, frowning deeply and turning his jade green eyes towards Yut-Lung. "As for you, you need to leave."

"Ash, don't talk to him like that!" The omega couldn't help but to snap at his alpha friend's attitude. "I know it's really personal to you but it's not his fault, and he's just as unhappy as you are! You don't have to like him but you don't get to just dismiss him like a dog!"

Sing looked just as surprised as Ash at the fact that Eiji had defended Yue rather than siding with the blonde alpha. Yut-Lung kept his face as neutral as ever but he could have sworn he saw his jaw tick slightly.

"I can fight my own battle, Okumura. We're allies, not fucking friends," the other omega snapped as Ash groaned in annoyance. 

"Fair enough. But still."

He turned back to Ash with a softened expression. 

"There is something we can do, Ash, and we're going to find it. You've done so much for me since we first met," the omega said as his voice cracked with emotion, tears actually threatening to spill. "You wouldn't give up on me, you wouldn't let me talk shit about myself! So I'm not giving up on you! You brought me into your group when I needed friends most, you and Sing and Shorter helped me tell my parents I was pregnant, you have called me out every single time I said something bad about myself! For the love of God, please just let us help you for once!"

The black-haired teenager's tone had taken on an obvious pleading quality and to his surprise Yut-Lung again subtly scented him to ground him now that he was getting overemotional. He wondered briefly why the other omega did that when he claimed to dislike him ever-so-much. Whatever the reason, Eiji was incredibly grateful for the support.

There was movement behind him as the sassier omega stood up and approached Ash with narrowed eyes. Something in his head suggested that things might get ugly, but the omega decided to have faith in the people around him to handle things the best they were able. He couldn't mother them all the time after all.

"Look, Lynx, I don't like this and nor do you. Yet I am willing to swallow my own damn pride and common sense for a chance at getting myself out of the festering pile of shit your father and my brother's dropped us in," Yut-Lung snapped bitterly as he folded his arms across his chest in what may have been a defensive manoeuvre. "The bonus for you is that getting myself out of that shit means getting you out too, so grow the hell up and see the bigger picture. We do this, we get out, we absolutely destroy those who hurt us, then we go our separate ways."

There was a faint growl out of Ash's mouth before he let lose a defeated sigh, rolling his eyes. Against his better instincts it seemed that he had accepted the situation. Eiji really wanted this to go better but at this point he would take what he could get. As long as everyone agreed to work together that was enough for now.

Sing simply stood and finally joined them all at the edge of the table, rubbing his temples.

"Shorter is going to have a heart attack when he hears about this."

\----

After school was over Eiji was simply expecting to go home and try to relax. Today's confrontation had been more than a little tense and all he wanted at this point was to have some green tea to calm himself. Just as he was about to start his walk home, however, he was greeted by a familiar facing with stunning green eyes.

Oh crap, did he really just think that? Maybe he was becoming too comfortable with the fact he felt a distinct pull towards Ash...

"Eiji. I'm sorry if I came across like a dick earlier," he said in greeting before ruffling his hair playfully, making the omega jokingly swat his hand away. "I wasn't angry at you, I was angry fucking Dino and everything that's wrong in my life. You're one of the good things in it, I could never be angry at you."

"T-that's... Well, thanks, Ash," Eiji responded with an awkward smile before starting to walk, giving a look that implied an unspoken invitation for the alpha to walk beside him for a little while. After all, he really needed to get home and have that green tea...

The two walked in comfortable silence for a little while, just basking in one another's company and silently appreciating the normalcy of the city activity around them. Or at least Eiji was. He assumed that was what Ash was doing too, but who knew? Maybe he was thinking deeply about whatever he tended to think about during the day.

Suddenly, out of nowhere Ash paused his movements, just staring up at the cloudy sky with a thoughtful expression. For a second Eiji worried about whether there was something wrong, but the blonde teenager's scent seemed the most normal he had smelled it all day. 

"... Why do you wanna help me so badly, Eiji?"

"I told the truth earlier. You've done so much for me. You've even helped me behind my back without me even knowing," the omega said sweetly, flashing a knowing little smile in Ash's direction. "You took time out of your own busy schedule to make sure Miss Randy could make mine as beneficial to me as possible. I didn't even know you'd noted my patterns enough to help with something like that. Thank you."

The thanks were nothing but sincere and that must have been present in his words, because he swore that he actually saw the blonde blushing a little. That was a nice sight, to see the alpha do something as innocent as blush at a compliment. It made him even more sure that his friend wasn't beyond saving.

"I just noticed that you tend to take time off school on Fridays a lot, so I guessed at least some of those must be your doctor appointments," the alpha stated with a nonchalant shrug. "Speaking of which, was I actually right?"

A dark cloud actually passed over Eiji's mind as he considered his last appointment. Mannerheim had been...less than pleasant, and the appointment he had this week to finally get prenatal vitamins wasn't likely to be much better. On a Friday he would literally rather be anywhere else; on any day of the week he would rather deal with Arthur and his bullshit.

Next thing he knew, Ash was taking a step closer to the omega. He placed a warm hand on Eiji's shoulder to comfort him and looked at him with a concerned expression. He hadn't meant to worry him. Everyone else had so much going on right now, he didn't want them to have to watch over him on top of all that. Mannerheim was his own problem to manage without being even more of a burden to everyone else.

"Eiji? Is everything with your baby...okay?"

"Yeah, they're fine," he said honestly, though his smile was strained. Ash could tell.

"Then your doctor is dodgy."

"Don't be ridiculous, Ash, everything's fine," Eiji insisted with a faint pout, trying to play everything off. He didn't want anything to get out of control and he certainly didn't want to cause anyone any trouble. 

"Then you won't mind if I join you at your next appointment?"

... What? Where did that come from? This was going to be trouble, Ash knew something was amiss and he was going to try and do something about it. The last thing he wanted was for there to be any trouble over this whole thing, it made him anxious to think of how badly this could blow up in his face. 

Maybe everything would be okay and normal if he had an alpha with him, anyway. Maybe that would be the best way to stop this appointment being too awful and to stop Ash from suspecting anything to awful. Yes, that would be for the best. Now he just had to hope that was the way it actually turned out.

"Okay. It's after school this Friday," Eiji informed with an awkward smile.

"Great. I'll meet you at the school entrance after the last bell on Friday."

God, this was going to be terrible.


End file.
